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AUTOBIOGRAPHY 


1ST.  T.  HUBBAKD 


PERSONAL  REMINISCENCES 


NEW  YORK  CITY 


From    1798    to    1875. 


NEW    YORK: 

JOHN      F.      TROW    &     SON, 

205-213  EAST  TWELFTH  STREET. 

1875. 


COPYRIGHT. 

H.      GRANT,      SUPERINTENDENT. 

1875. 


JOHN  F.  TROW  &  SON, 

PRINTERS   AND    BOOKBINDERS, 

206  to  213  Kaat   Twetflli  Mi-eet, 
NEW  YORK. 


DEDICATION. 


To  COL.  ISAAC  H.  REED. 
MY  DEAR,  SIR: 

It  is  with  unfeigned  pleasure  I  dedicate  (with  your  per- 
mission) this  little  work  to  you,  Sir,  with  whom  I  have 
been  so  long  and  so  pleasantly  associated,  with  so  many 
pleasing  incidents  occurring  in  our  intercourse,  that  it  is  in- 
deed a  pleasure  and  a  pride  to  me  to  dedicate  to  you  my 
book ;  and  if  it  will  while  away  a  leisure  hour,  and  call  to 
your  remembrance  one  who  has  the  highest  esteem  and  re- 
gard for  you,  it  will  indeed  repay  me. 

Wishing  you,  my  dear  friend,  many  and  prosperous  days, 
I  am 
»  Truly  and  faithfully  yours, 

N.  T.  HUBBARD. 


PREFACE. 


HAVING  had^  for  several  months  past  much 
leisure  time  on  my  hands,  the  thought  occurred  to 
me,  early  last  Spring,  that  I  could  not  improve 
my  leisure  hours  better  or  to  more  advantage 
than  to  jot  down  a  few  reminiscences  and  recol- 
lections of  the  time,  long  gone  by,  in  connection 
with  a  brief  history  of  my  early  life.  In  these 
papers  I  have  alluded  quite  often  to  my  pro- 
genitors and  many  of  my  relatives,  and  I  beg  here 
to  say — the  remarks  which  I  have  made  concern- 
ing them,  were  intended  more  particularly  for 
them  alone,  than  for  the  public  generally.  I 
have  several  times,  during  the  writing  of  these 
papers,  threatened  to  destroy  what  I  had  written, 
feeling  as  I  frequently  have,  that  I  could  not 
give  that  expression  to  my  thoughts  in  language 
that  altogether  pleased  me ;  but  I  was  prevailed 
upon  to  go  on,  and  I  now  present  to  my  relatives 
and  friends  a  little  work  which  has  taken  me 
many  months  to  complete,  and  which  I  sincerely 
trust  may  prove  of  some  interest  to  my  readers. 


VI  PEEFACE. 

At  my  time  of  life  (I  am  now  in  my  ninetieth 
year)  it  can  hardly  be  expected  that  I  should 
possess  the  qualifications  necessary  to  give  to  these 
papers  anything  approaching  literary  merit. 
This  I  certainly  have  not  aspired  to,  but  simply 
to  relate  in  my  own  language  and  in  my  own 
way,  some  of  the  events  which  have  occurred  in 
this  city  during  the  past  seventy-five  or  eighty 
years,  and  if  I  have  contributed  even  in  a  small 
degree,  any  gratification  or  amusement  to  my 
readers,  I  shall  be  satisfied.  Having  lived  far 
beyond  the  time  allotted  to  man,  and  with  a  due 
sense  of  His  great  mercies  to  me — sparing  me  in 
my  old  age,  and  placing  my  trust  still  in  Him, 
I  await  His  summons,  and  may  His  blessings 
descend  upon  one  and  all  of  you. 

K  T.  HUBBABD. 


INTERLUDE. 


I  AM  scribbling  out  in  my  old  age  (nearly  ninety) 
some  reminiscences  of  my  own  life,  together  with 
some  historic  facts  of  New  York  City,  in  which  I 
have  now  resided  seventy-six  years ;  my  memory 
at  times  is  at  fault  and  not  so  good  as  it  was  fifty 
years  ago,  so  when  a  circumstance  or  an  idea 
flashes  on  my  mind  of  earlier  recollections,  I  note 
it  down,  without  regard  to  what  I  have  previously 
written,  therefore  many  of  these  pages  will  be 
somewhat  disjointed.  I  have  no  apology  to  make 
on  this  account,  as  my  own  relatives  and  friends 
will  not  criticise  the  many  inaccuracies  these 
sketches  contain.  I  have  never  traveled  abroad, 
and  know  nothing  of  the  great  European  cities 
beyond  what  I  have  read ;  but  I  feel  myself 
pretty  well  posted,  probably  as  much  so  as 
many  tourists  who  have,  from  time  to  time, 
visited  the  European  capitals.  I  have  read  for 
many  years  historic  accounts  from  every  portion 
of  the  globe.  My  travels  in  my  own  country 
have  also  been  very  limited. 


Vlll  INTERLUDE. 

The  main  portion  of  my  life  I  have  devoted  to 
business  in  New  York,  and  this,  together  with  the 
superintendence  of  my  large  family,  and  the 
education  of  my  children,  in  which  I  spared  no 
expense,  has  occupied  most  of  my  time. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 
MY  EARLY  LIFE — GABRIEL  HAVENS  . 


CHAPTER  II. 
MY  FIRST  SCHOOL,  SIMONY,  AND  TRAINING  DAY 18 


CHAPTER  III. 
TUB  FISHERIES  OP  LONG  ISLAND... 


CHAPTER  IV. 
THE  LONG  ISLAND  AND  THE  HUDSON  R.  R.  R 28 

CHAPTER  V. 
MY  TRIP  To  NIAGARA  AND  THE  INAUGURATION  OP 

HARRISON 37 

CHAPTER  VI. 
THE  OLD  MAYORS,  ETC 43 

CHAPTER  VII. 
LITERARY 57 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
MY  BIRTHDAY  . .  .61 


CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER  IX. 


THE  OLD  HOTELS. 


CHAPTER  X. 
THE  CHOLERA  OP  1832  AND  TRIP  TO  PATERSON.   . .    74 


CHAPTER  XL 
THE  MILITARY.  . . 


CHAPTER  XIL 
THE  OPERA  AND  THE  MUSICAL  CELEBRITIES  OF  THE 

PAST 93 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

MEMBERS  OP  THE  PRODUCE  EXCHANGE,  THE  CHAM- 
BER OP  COMMERCE,  AND  PROMINENT  MER- 
CHANTS OP  FIFTY  YEARS  AGO 130 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
THE  GREAT  FIRE  OP  1835. — THE  INTRODUCTION  OF 

THE  CROTON  WATER.— OUR  MARKETS 138 

CHAPTER  XV. 
POLITICAL 146 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
MY  OLD  CLERKS 150 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
CENTRAL  PARK 154 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
THE  OLD  ARISTOCRACY. — PETER  COOPER,  MK.  Jonx 

J.  ASTOR,  AND  COL.  RUTGERS 1GO 


CONTENTS.  XI 


PAGE 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
OUR  CHURCHES  AND  CLERGYMEN.  . .  . .  169 


CHAPTER  XX. 
WM.  B.  COZZENS  AND  MR.  NiBLO 185 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
MY  PERSONAL  FRIENDS 192 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
OLD  LANDMARKS 202 

CHAPTER  XXIH. 
BROOKLYN  AND  HOBOKEN 210 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
THE  PAPERS  I  SUBSCRIBE  TO 213 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
THE  THEATRE  AND  RECREATION 218 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
MY  BUST  ON  THE  EXCHANGE 221 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 
MY  GOLDEN  WEDDING 224 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
PARSON  GREENE.  . .  . .  228 


REMINISCENCES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

MY    EARLY    LIFE. 

I  WAS  born  at  Mattituck,  Suffolk  County, 
Long  Island,  on  the  29th  of  May,  1785. 
I  mo\red  to  New  York  with  my  father's 
family  in  1708,  and  have  resided  here  ever 
since.  In  very  early  life  I  was  taken  by 
a  maiden  aunt  to  my  grandfather's,  who 
lived  adjacent  to  my  father's.  She  had 
been  betrothed,  in  early  life,  to  a  very  ex- 
cellent young  man,  who  suddenly  died; 
and  my  Aunt  Mary  would  never  after  lis- 
ten to  any  proposal  of  marriage.  So  she 

took  me,  a  baby,  for  her  idol ;  for  she  al- 
i 


2  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

ways  loved  and  worshipped  me  to  idolatry. 
A  few  years  later,  my  father  removed  with 
his  family  to  Blooming  Grove,  Orange 
County,  leaving  me  with  my  aunt  and  grand- 
father's family.  Some  eight  or  nine  years 
after,  both  of  my  grandparents  died ;  then 
my  father  returned  to  Long  Island  and 
made  arrangements  to  take  me  home  with 
him ;  but  my  Aunt  Mary  insisted  upon 
accompanying  me,  to  which  my  father 
readily  assented.  She  remained  at  my 
father's  until  the  following  spring,  when  she 
returned  to  Long  Island,  with  a  promise 
from  him  that  I  should  be  permitted  to  visit 
her  once  a  year  as  long  as  she  lived.  He 
kept  this  promise  for  two  years — he  then 
sold  out  his  property  in  Orange  County 
and  removed  to  New  York  in  the  fall  of 
1 798— after  this  she  visited  my  father's 
family  in  New  York,  and  I  regularly  visit- 
ed her  every  year  to  the  end  of  her  life.  No 
son  ever  loved  or  worshipped  his  mother 
more  sincerely  than  I  did  this  excellent 


N.    T.    HUBBAED.  3 

and  devoted  aunt,  and  after  her  death 
I  caused  a  marble  headstone  to  be  placed 
at  her  grave  at  Mattituck,  Long  Island, 
where  she  was  born  and  died.  I  was 
employed  for  several  years  in  the  winter 
with  my  uncle,  Daniel  Hubbard,  who  was 
an  inspector  of  provisions.  During  the 
spring  and  summer  I  was  frequently  out  of 
employment,  but  having  attained  to  my 
majority  (twenty-one  years),  I  felt  myself 
capable  of  filling  most  any  position  that 
might  offer.  At  this  time  a  proposal  was 
made  (which  I  accepted),  to  take  charge 
of  a  school  at  East  Hempstead,  Long  Island. 
I  remained  there  six  months — at  the  end  of 
that  time  I  returned  to  the  city,  and  ob- 
tained employment  for  a  year  in  the  office 
of  James  Roosevelt,  sugar  baker,  in  Pearl 
Street,  at  a  salary  of  $400  a  year.  I  spent 
the  following  summer  with  my  uncle,  Au- 
gustus Griffin,  who  kept  a  retail  store  at 
Oysterponds  (now  called  Orient),  on  Long 
Island.  I  was  employed  by  him  in  writ- 


4  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

ing  tip  Ms  books,  and  otherwise  assisting 
him  in  the  store.  In  the  fall  I  returned  to 
the  City,  and  was  book-keeper  for  my  uncle, 
Daniel  Hubbard. 

Shortly  after  I  formed  a  copartnership 
with  Mr.  Samuel  Fanning,  who  was  also 
born  on  Long  Island,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Fanning  and  Hubbard,  and  we  opened  a 
grocery  store  in  Catherine  Street,  opposite 
the  market,  between  Cherry  and  Water 
Streets.  At  the  end  of  a  year  we  dissolved 
partnership.  I  continued  in  the  grocery 
business  for  ten  years,  having  removed  to 
other  locations  in  the  meantime.  The  last 
two  years  I  was  in  this  business  I  did  not 
make  my  expenses  by  $1,500.  Business  at 
this  time  not  looking  very  bright,  I  called 
in  an  auctioneer,  sold  out  my  stock  of  goods, 
and  (as  previously  arranged)  I  went  down 
town  and  hired  an  office  in  Water  Street, 
engaged  a  clerk  at  $30  per  month,  and  enter- 
ed into  the  produce  brokerage  business,  and 
soon  procured  a  good  set  of  customers,  and 


N.    T.    HUBBAED.  0 

in  six  mouths  I  earned  sufficient  to  pay 
off  the  $1,500  I  was  in  debt,  besides  sup- 
porting ray  growing  family.  From  this 
time  forward  fortune  favored  me,  and  in 
the  course  of  ten  years  I  did  a  large  com- 
mission business,  and  could  advance  from 
850,000  to  8100,000  in  cash  if  required. 

I  was  married  in  1811  to  Susan  Logan, 
daughter  of  Major  Samuel  Logan,  of  Rev- 
olutionary memory,  at  New  Windsor,  Or- 
ange County.  We  lived  together  fifty-six 
years  in  perfect  peace  and  harmony,  she  a 
true  and  devoted  wife  and  mother — the  idol 
of  my  younger  days,  and  the  prop  and  stay 
of  my  declining  years.  She  died  February 
4th,  1867,  in  the  eighty-second  year  of  her 
age.  We  had  five  sons  and  five  daughters, 
who  lived  to  be  over  twenty-one  years  of 
age  before  I  lost  any  of  them  by  death.  I 
have  now  four  daughters  and  two  sons 
living. 

It  may  be  of  some  interest  to  those  who 
may  read  my  little  book  to  know  some- 


6  AUTOBIOGKAPHY    OF 

tiling  of  the  early  history  of  New  York. 
In  1798  the  population  of  the  city  was  about 
seventy  thousand.  At  this  time  there  were 
no  buildings  in  Broadway  above  Chambers 
Street,  except  scattering  ones,  and  there 
were  not  sixty  houses  in  all  Brooklyn, 
from  the  Navy  Yard  to  the  South  Ferry. 
We  then  crossed  to  Brooklyn  in  small- 
boats.  The  fare  was  6d.  Some  years 
after,  a  horse-boat  conveyed  passengers 
across  the  river. 

The  first  steamboat  was  built  by  a  Mr. 
Brown,  on  the  East  River,  some  five  or  six 
blocks  above  Rutgers  Street,  under  the  di- 
rection and  supervision  of  Robert  Fulton, 
some  sixty-five  or  seventy  years  ago.  I 
was  then  a  clerk  with  my  uncle  at  Corlear's 
Hook,  and  passed  the  yard  in  which  it  was 
being  built  twice  a  day.  My  father  then 
resided  in  Henry  Street.  I  frequently 
stopped  and  went  on  board  of  her  while  in 
progress  of  building.  I  likewise  saw  her 
start  on  her  first  and  trial  trip  to  Albany. 


N.    T.    HUBBAED.  7 

In  speaking  of  New  York,  I  would  here 
remark  that  the  old  inhabitants  have  all 
passed  away,  but  I  well  remember  many  of 
the  prominent  merchants  of  sixty-five  and 
seventy  years  ago.  Daniel  Lydig,  John 
E.  Cole,  Suydam  &  Wykoff,  and  John 
Townsend.  Among  the  largest  shipping 
merchants  were  Leroy,  Bayard  &  McEvers, 
Archibald  Gracie,  Eobert  Lenox,  Minturn 
<fe  Champlin,  and  many  others  whom  I 
have  forgotten.  At  a  later  date  Isaac 
Wright  &  Son  established  the  first  regular 
line  of  packets  between  this  port  and 
Liverpool,  "known  as  the  Black  Ball  line. 
This  house  was  among  the  first  to  pat- 
ronize me.  When  I  first  commenced  the 
produce  brokerage  business  I  received  re- 
gular orders  from  them  to  purchase  from 
three  hundred  to  five  hundred  bushels  of 
rye,  and  supplied  the  beef  and  pork  for 
stores  for  their  ships.  Jeremiah  Thompson 
was  also  connected  with  them  in  this  line  of 
packets.  For  several  years  I  monopolized 


8  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

the  rye  flour  market,  and  bought  up  three- 
fourths  of  all  that  arrived  here,  and  sup- 
plied all  the  jobbing  flour  dealers,  together 
with  the  shippers.  The  old  firm  of  Hay  & 
Wood  were  the  largest  shippers  of  rye 
flour  at  this  period. 

I  had  a  contract  for  one  year,  in  connec- 
tion with  a  reliable  person  who  resided  at 
Sing  Sing,  to  supply  the  inmates  of  the 
prison,  being  the  lowest  bidder.  I  took 
the  contract  at  nine  cents  per  day  for  each 
prisoner.  The  prison  fare  consisted  of  rye 
flour,  Indian  meal,  prime  beef,  prime  pork, 
molasses,  vinegar,  salt,  and  dry  codfish,  rye 
for  coffee,  and  occasionally  beans  and  peas, 
together  with  potatoes.  Of  this  latter 
article  I  purchased  one  day  at  New  Slip 
fifteen  hundred  bushels  at  ten  cents  a 
bushel.  At  the  termination  of  the  con- 
tract we  had  made  a  little  over  $1,500. 

Among  the  old  prominent  wholesale 
grocers  of  sixty  years  ago  were  Eld  ad 
Holmes,  Stebbins  &  Couch,  Peter  G.  Hart, 


N.    T.    HUBBABD.  9 

Stevens  &  Lippincott,  Wardle  &  Wood,  J. 
Johnson  &  Sons,  Hopkins  &  Hawley, 
and  many  others  too  numerous  to  mention. 
The  wholesale  iron  dealers  were  Pierson  & 
Co.,  Francis  Saltus  .<fe  Co.,  and  Blackwell 
&  Co.  Among  the  dry  goods  merchants  I 
had  little  or  no  communication.  I  recol- 
lect the  old  silk  house  of  Vandevoort  & 
Flanden,  in  Broadway,  and  Lewis  Tappan, 
in  Pearl  Street.  We  had  no  A.  T.  Stewart 
in  those  days ;  hut,  digressing  a  moment,  I 
will  here  relate  a  little  occurrence  that 
took  place  in  Tappan's  store,  shortly  after 
Stewart  opened  his  store  on  Broadway. 

Tappan  had  just  received  a  small  in- 
voice of  silks,  which  he  had  imported. 
Among  his  other  customers  Mr.  Stewart 
called  and  found  a  case  of  silk  that 
pleased  him,  but  he  had  not  sufficient 
means  on  hand  to  pay  for  it.  He  bought 
the  case,  however,  and  paid  down  one-half 
the  cost  of  it,  and  agreed  to  pay  the 
balance  in  a  day  or  two.  He  took  from 


10  AUTOBIOGKAPHY    OF 

the  Case  what  he  had  paid  for  on  account, 
and,  agreeably  to  his  engagement,  called  in 
a  day  or  two  and  paid  the  balance  due 
and  took  the  remainder  of  the  silk.  This 
fact  was  related  to  me  by  Mr.  Cyrus 
Chenery,  my  son-in-law. 

MY    ANCESTKY. 

My  mother's  family  was  large.  I  was 
the  eldest  son,  and  the  only  one  now  liv 
ing.  My  sisters  and  brothers  all  had 
families,  so  I  must  necessarily  have  many 
relatives  scattered  around  the  country, 
aside  from  my  grandchildren  and  great 
grandchildren ;  and  of  those  whom  I  have 
never  seen  I  may  only  hope  that  their 
future  in  life  may  be  attended  with  every 
success ;  and  may  that  Almighty  Power  so 
guide  and  guard  them  that  this  result  may 
be  obtained. 

In  my  prolonged  life  I  necessarily  have 
had  great  experience,  and  were  it  now  in 
my  power  to  speak  to  one  and  all  of  you 


N.    T.    HtTBBAED.  11 

I  should  say,  be  honest  and  just  to  your 
fellow-men;  never  forgetting  the  great 
blessings  your  Heavenly  Father  has  be- 
stowed upon  you ;  resign  yourselves  to 
His  care,  and  He  will  never  desert  you. 

In  1783  my  father  married  Mary  Tuthill, 
at  Rocky  Point,  Long  Island.  Her  father's 
name  was  Nathaniel  Tuthill,  by  which 
name  I  was  christened.  He  left  very  large 
landed  estates  to  his  widow,  and  it  was 
currently  reported  and  generally  believed 
that  she  was  the  richest  widow  on  Long 
Island.  Her  income  was  some  $1,200  a 
year,  which  at  that  early  period  was  equal 
to  $12,000  a  year  at  the  present  time.  It 
was  further  reported  of  him  that  he  was 
one  of  the  best  men  that  ever  lived;  he 
died  early  in  life,  mourned  and  regretted 
by  every  one  who  knew  him.  I  have  great 
reason  to  be  proud  and  thankful  that  I 
sprung  from  such  noble  ancestry,  who  were 
so  universally  admired  and  loved  to  the  close 
of  their  lives. 


12  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

A    STEOLL    IN    CENTRAL    PARK. 

May  llth,  yesterday,  Sunday,  I  attended 
church  on  the  corner  of  Fifth  Avenue  and 
Twenty-ninth  Street — the  Dutch  Reformed. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Ormiston  gave  one  of  his 
most  thrilling  discourses  on  the  subject  of 
death.  He  stated  in  the  course  of  his  re- 
marks that  he  had  attended  four  funerals 
of  his  congregation  during  the  week.  H<; 
is  a  man  of  superior  talent,  and  is  a  strik 
ing  light  among  his  brother-clergymen. 
From  the  church  I  took  the  cars  and  rode 
to  Central  Park;  it  was  decidedly  the 
warmest  day  we  had  yet  had.  After  a 
short  ramble  in  the  Park  I  returned  and 
made  one  or  two  visits.  One  to  my  old 
friend,  Dr.  Robinson,  who  has  resided  many 
years  on  the  south  side  of  Washington 
Square,  whose  age  is  within  about  four 
months  of  my  own;  he  has  been  totally 
blind  for  several  years  past. 

Dr.  Robinson  was  born  in  this  city,  in 


N.    T.    HUBBAKD.  13 

South  Street,  between  Peck  Slip  and  Roose- 
velt Street.  He  married  a  Miss  Bull,  who 
resided  in  Rutgers  Street  with  her  father, 
while  my  father's  family  resided  two  doors 
below.  One  of  my  sisters  was  very  inti- 
mate with  this  lady.  She  died  some  twelve 
or  thirteen  years  ago,  and  I  was  one  of  the 
pall-bearers  at  her  funeral.  She  was  a 
splendid  and  most  accomplished  lady. 
Captain  Bull,  the  father  of  the  Doctor's 
wife,  was  formerly  an  old  sea-captain,  but 
had  retired  from  the  service  and  had  opened 
a  lumber  yard  in  Cherry  just  above  Rut- 
gers Street. 

One  day,  during  the  war  with  Great 
Britain  in  1812,  Captain  Bull  had  an  ap- 
plication from  one  of  our  oldest  and  larg- 
est shipping-houses  to  make  the  voyage  to 
China  in  one  of  their  vessels,  as  both  cap- 
tain and  supercargo,  for  which  he  was 
promptly  offered  $10,000  for  the  round 
voyage.  After  two  or  three  days'  reflec- 
tion he  accepted  the  offer,  and  the  ship 


14  AUTOBIOGKAPIIY    OF 

was  immediately  loaded  and  shortly  after 
sailed.  She  made  a  prosperous  voyage, 
and  returned,  about  fifteen  or  sixteen 
months  afterwards,  safe  and  sound,  escap- 
ing the  numerous  privateers  scouring  the 
ocean  at  that  time. 

During  the  war  I  was  drafted  for  mili- 
tary duty  in  one  of  the  forts  in  our  harbor. 
I  had  been  married  the  year  previous,  and 
besides  I  had  my  store  to  look  after,  and  I 
felt  very  unwilling  to  leave  both  my  family 
and  business,  so  I  applied  to  my  only 
brother  offering  him  my  outfit  and  thirty 
dollars  a  month  to  go  as  my  substitute, 
which  he  promptly  accepted.  I  was  then 
a  member  of  a  uniformed  company  of  light 
artillery,  composed  of  the  most  respectable 
young  men  of  the  city.  Our  captain  was 
Henry  Morgan,  a  wholesale  grocer,  then 
doing  business  corner  of  Peck  Slip  and 
Front  Street.  I  never  had  any  taste  for 
military  life,  and  invariably  objected  being 
elected  from  the  ranks  to  any  office,  al- 


N.    T.    HUBBAKD.  15 

tliougli  repeatedly  solicited,  but  I  would 
nominate  some  one  of  my  friends  for  the 
office  intended  for  me,  and  of  those  very 
men  I  first  nominated  for  a  subordinate 
office  was  Colonel  Hopkins,  afterwards  of 
the  old  firm  of  Hopkins  &  Hawley.  He 
was  shortly  after  elected  General  of  the 
Brigade ;  he  has  been  dead  several  years. 

Among  the  more  prominent  shipping 
merchants  whose  acquaintance  I  made 
were  Robert  Lenox,  who  imported  from 
Jamaica  large  quantities  of  rum,  sugar  and 
molasses;  N.  L.  <fe  G.  Griswold,  Boorman 
&  Johnston,  Joseph  Foulk  &  Sons,  G.  G.  & 
S.  Howland,  afterwards  Howland  &  Aspin- 
wall,  Peter  Stagg  &  Co.,  Alsop  &  Chauncey, 
David  Lydig,  Peter  I.  Nevius,  Grinnell  <fe 
Minturn,  and  many  others  whom  I  cannot 
at  this  moment  call  to  mind. 

GABRIEL   HAVEISTS. 

In  some  portion  of  these  papers  I  have 
already  spoken  of  the  Havens  family,  but  I 


16  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

find  it  necessary  to  enlarge  on  it  in  connec- 
tion with  others  of  my  paternal  ancestry, 
viz.,  Havens,  Hallock,  Hubbard  and  Tut- 
hill.  Gabriel  Havens  was  own  cousin  to 
my  grandmother,  Mary  Tuthill,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Havens.  My  grand- 
father married  a  Miss  Hallock,  while  Mr. 
Hallock  married  a  sister  of  grandfather 
Hubbard — the  above  formed  my  ancestry. 
All  these  families  were  from  the  most  re- 
spectable citizens  of  Long  Island,  and  their 
descendants  to-day  in  point  of  respectability 
and  influence  will  compare  most  favorably 
with  those  of  any  other  in  this  country,  as 
there  is  no  blot  or  stain  upon  their  names. 
Gabriel  and  his  brother  Philetus  were 
shipping  merchants  in  this  city  seventy 
years  ago.  Gabriel  Havens,  at  a  later 
period  of  his  life,  was  Harbor  Master  in 
this  city  for  several  years.  Mr.  Havens 
and  wife  were  at  my  eldest  daughter's  wed- 
ding, as  were  also  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Crary.  Mr. 
Crary  married  the  youngest  sister  of  Mr. 


N.    T.    HUBBAED.  17 

Havens,  and  there  may  be  some  of  our 
older  citizens  now  living  who  may  remem- 
ber the  old  firm  of  Peter  and  John  Crary ; 
the  latter  lived  for  many  years  opposite  St. 
John's  Park.  Mr.  Gabriel  Havens  died  in 
this  city  some  forty-five  years  ago.  Mr. 
Chenery,  my  son-in-law,  was  a  watcher  at 
his  bedside  the  night  he  died.  There  was  a 
strong  intimacy  existing  between  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Spring  and  Mr.  Havens'  family,  the 
latter  having  attended  the  church  of  Dr. 
Spring  for  many  years.  After  the  death 
of  Mr.  Havens,  his  body  was  removed  by 
packet  to  Sag  Harbor,  and  from  thence  to 
his  father's  private  burying-ground.  Dr. 
Spring  accompanied  the  remains  to  their 
last  resting-place,  and  performed  all  the 
services  for  his  departed  friend. 


18  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 


CHAPTER  II. 

MY   FIKST    SCHOOL. 

AT  about  the  age  of  five  years  I  was 
first  sent  to  school.  A  widow  lady  by  the 
name  of  Chase  presided  over  this  institu- 
tion. She  resided  within  a  half  mile  of  my 
grandparents,  and  being  of  a  kind,  moth- 
erly disposition,  she  very  soon  ingratiated 
herself  into  the  good  graces  of  all  her 
scholars.  I  have  but  little  to  say  regard- 
ing our  mental  improvement ;  suffice  it  to 
say,  she  was  not  exactly  educated  for  a 
schoolmistress,  but  notwithstanding  this 
she  could  repeat  the  alphabet,  and  this  at 
times  with  some  effect.  I  am  joking  over 
my  old  schoolmistress,  but  it  was  she  who 
first  taught  me  my  ABC.  Those  happy 
schoolboy  days ! 


N     T.    HUBBARD.  19 

At  about  this  time  we  had  "  our  clergy- 
man" at  Mattituck,  who  gloried  in  the 
name  of  Goldsmith.  He  was  a  farmer.  I 
never  knew  who  his  spiritual  teachers  were ; 
possibly  he  may  have  been  his  own  tutor. 
He  was  at  best  a  prosy  old  crone,  and  had 
a  disagreeable  way  of  see-sawing  his  body 
in  the  pulpit  while  speaking.  Our  little 
church  was  located  in  the  immediate  vicin- 
ity of  a  tavern,  and  before  our  learned 
friend  ascended  his  pulpit  he  invariably 
partook  at  this  tavern  of  his  favorite  bever- 
age, which  consisted  of  a  mixture  of  sugar 
and  gin.  My  recollections  of  this  individual 
are  somewhat  vague,  but  there  is  a  charac- 
ter in  one  of  Dickens's  works,  a  lawyer  (if 
I  mistake  not,  in  "Oliver  Twist"),  who  is 
the  counterpart  of  what  this  learned  divine 
once  was. 

SIMONY,  OUR    SLAVE. 

My  grandmother  Tuthill  owned  a  slave 
named  Simony,  which  she  gave  to  my 


20  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

mother  shortly  after  her  marriage.  This 
slave  girl  was  a  great  favorite  in  my 
father's  family.  She  was  an  uncommonly 
good-looking  girl  of  the  mulatto  type.  She 
was  particularly  fond  of  dress,  and  my 
mother  humored  her  somewhat  in  this  re- 
gard. We  all  became  very  much  attached 
to  her.  My  mother  sent  her  to  school  as 
regularly,  during  the  summer  as  she  did  her 
own  children.  When  my  father  concluded 
to  remove  to  New  York,  she  became  very 
uneasy  and  discontented,  and  begged  that 
my  mother  would  find  a  new  master  for 
her  and  sell  her,  as  she  did  not  wish  to  go 
to  New  York.  My  mother  knew  the  reason 
why  Simony  was  so  opposed  to  going  with 
us  to  the  city. 

Previous  to  our  removal  to  Orange 
County,  she  had  formed  an  intimate  ac- 
quaintance with  a  young  colored  man,  on 
Long  Island,  of  excellent  character  (a  slave 
also),  who,  after  my  father's  removal  to 
Orange  County,  persuaded  his  master  to 


N.    T.    HUBBABD.  21 

sell  him  to  a  rich  farmer,  who  lived  near 
Gosheu,  Orange  County,  and  the  sale  was 
soon  after  effected — hence  the  reason  why 
Simony  was  so  opposed  to  going  with  the 
family  to  New  York.  When  the  young 
man  was  installed  in  his  new  master's  em- 
ploy, he  frequently  visited  Simony  at  our 
home.  Just  previous  to  our  leaving  for 
the  city,  my  mother  one  morning  ordered 
her  horse  saddled,  and  told  the  family  she 
was  going  to  Goshen  on  some  important 
business ;  and  when  she  returned,  in  the 
afternoon,  she  told  the  family  that  she  had 
sold  Simony  to  the  master  of  her  lover,  and 
that  she  would  go  to  her  new  home  in  the 
course  of  a  week.  There  was  crying  and 
rejoicing  at  the  same  time,  for  all  the 
children  were  devotedly  attached  to  her. 
In  a  short  time  after  her  advent  in  her  new 
home,  Simony  and  her  lover  were  married. 
She  did  not  live  many  years  to  enjoy  her 
married  life,  for  she  fell  into  a  decline  and 
died  within  three  years  afterwards. 


22  AUTOBIOGEAPHT   OF 


DAT. 

While  yet  a  lad  residing  at  my  native 
place  I  remember  the  most  prominent  holi- 
day of  the  year  was  the  general  training 
day,  which  usually  occurred  in  May  and 
invariably  took  place  at  Mattituck,  my  na- 
tive place,  where  the  men  subject  to  mili- 
tary duty  assembled  from  thirty  miles  dis- 
tant. It  was  the  custom  in  those  early 
days  for  the  women  and  girls  to  accom- 
pany the  male  members  of  the  household 
on  these  occasions;  in  short,  making  it  a 
general  holiday  for  all.  The  whole  scene 
was  an  enlivening  one,  and  the  grown  por- 
tion of  the  company  enjoyed  themselves  to 
the  full.  All  kinds  of  sports  were  in- 
dulged in,  and  one  happy  day,  at  least,  was 
passed  amid  enjoyments  and  in  social  inter- 
course. Old  associations  were  renewed 
and  new  friendships  formed.  In  fact,  the 
day  of  all  others  in  the  year  was  Training 
Day. 


T.    IIUBBAED.  23 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    FISHERIES    OF    LONG   ISLAND. 

IN  my  very  early  youth,  I  remember, 
in  the  spring  of  each  year,  the  inhabitants 
of  Long  Island,  from  River  Head  to  Oys- 
terpond  Point,  engaged  from  four  to  six 
weeks  in  fishing  for  moss  bunkers  for  the 
express  purpose  of  manuring  their  lands. 
A  number  of  the  farmers  would  unite  to- 
gether and  have  a  large  seine  manufac- 
tured, in  which  they  all  took  shares,  and 
when  the  fishing  season  arrived  they  would 
employ  a  number  of  men  to  man  and  man- 
nage  one  of  these  immense  seines,  which 
were  placed  on  the  beach  and  inlets  in  the 
bays  between  River  Head  and  Oyster- 
pond.  Immense  windlasses  were  erected 
on  the  beach  to  draw  the  seine  when  a 


24  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

school  of  fisli  was  discovered  by  the  men. 
These  seines,  on  an  average,  would  com- 
pass a  circle  of  two  miles.  There  have 
been  numerous  instances  in  which  the 
fishermen  would  watch  day  and  night  for 
a  week  together  without  seeing  a  school ; 
then  again  they  would  come  in  with  a  per- 
fect rush. 

I  recollect  one  day,  with  my  father, 
visiting  my  uncle  Halleck,  whose  large 
farm  was  about  a  mile  south  of  Southold 
Town,  and  where  a  large  inlet  extended 
some  three  or  four  miles.  On  the  beach 
the  fishermen  had  erected  their  shanties 
and  the  large  windlasses.  On  going  down 
to  the  beach  that  morning  I  beheld  a  sight 
I  can  never  forget — the  whole  beach  for  a 
mile  or  more  was  literally  covered  with 
the  fish.  It  was  estimated  the  haul  of  that 
morning  would  reach  two  and  a  half 
millions  of  moss  bunkers.  On  this  par- 
ticular occasion  many  of  the  large  land- 
owners, who  were  shareholders,  could  not 


N.    T.    HITBBAED.  25 

find  vehicles  sufficient  to  remove  their  pro- 
portion of  the  haul.  The  lands  in  this 
neighborhood  have  been  made  rich  by 
these  fish  productions,  and  I  believe  the 
same  fisheries  that  prevailed  eighty  years 
ago  are  still  carried  on  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree. 

It  is  well  known  that  Long  Island 
Sound  has  long  been  noted  in  connection 
with  fisheries  for  the  immense  number  of 
porpoises  it  contains.  I  remember,  when 
a  boy,  that  some  of  our  fishermen  clubbed 
together  and  manufactured  a  seine  for  por- 
poise fishing,  for  the  express  purpose  of 
obtaining  the  oil;  it  proved,  however,  a 
failure,  and  was  abandoned  after  two  or 
three  years. 

WHALE   SHIPS. 

What  marvellous  changes  have  occurred 
within  the  past  sixty  years !  Thousands 
upon  thousands  have  been  born,  and  thou- 
sands upon  thousands  have  died  in  that 


26  AUTOBIOGKAPHY    OF 

period  of  time  ;  thousands  of  wealthy  and 
influential  families  have  become  impover- 
ished, and  thousands  of  poor  have  become 
wealthy;  business  has  increased  beyond 
all  calculation — from  a  dozen  brokers  in 
produce  fifty  years  ago,  they  can  now  be 
numbered  by  regiments,  and  still  they 
come.  During  the  early  days  of  my 
brokerage  life,  I  did  a  large  business  in 
supplying  our  fleet  of  whaling  ships  with 
beef  and  pork  for  their  voyages  out  and 
home.  In  several  of  them  I  had  an  inter- 
est. When  a  new  whaler  was  being  built, 
the  cost  w^as  put  into  shares  of  $250  each, 
to  which,  when  requested  by  the  agents, 
I  subscribed  from  one  to  five  shares. 
Some  of  them  paid  good  dividends,  while 
others  were  not  so  fortunate. 

The  fleet  of  whalers  at  present  is 
reduced  to  a  very  small  number;  this 
fact  is  principally  owing  to  the  great  in- 
crease of  the  petroleum  productions  of 
later  years,  which  has  proved  a  substitute 


N.    T.    HUBBAED.  27 

for  whale  oil,  and  is  sold  at  such  low 
prices  that  the  whaling  interest  is  nearly 
banished  from  the  ocean.  Twenty  or 
thirty  years  ago,  on  visiting  the  large 
whaling  ports  down  east,  viz.  :  New  Bed- 
ford, New  London,  Nantucket,  Sag  Har- 
bor, and  Greenport,  the  wharves  were  liter- 
ally alive  with  business  in  discharging  the 
arrivals  of  whale  ships,  and  the  prepara- 
tions in  fitting-out  and  loading  others  for 
their  long  voyages.  Visit  those  places 
now  and  you  will  find  them  almost  utterly 
deserted  ;  instead  of  their  former  activity, 
you  will  find  their  wharves  fast  going  to 
decay,  and  scarcely  anything  doing  on 
their  former  busy  wharves.  The  few 
whalers  now  on  the  ocean  are  on  the  track 
for  sperm  whales,  for  a  good  cargo  of 
sperm  oil  would  still  pay  a  good  profit 
over  the  cost  of  obtaining  it. 


28  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 


CHAPTER  IV. 

LONG    ISLAND    EAILKOAD. 

THE  opening  of  the  Long  Island  Rail- 
road from  Brooklyn  to  Greenpoint,  many 
years  ago,  was  quite  an  exciting  affair. 
The  president  and  directors  of  the  com- 
pany had  invited  their  friends  and  the  most 
prominent  men  of  the  island  to  meet  the 
train  at  the  different  stations,  and  pro- 
ceed on  to  the  end  of  the  road ;  hence  our 
train  was  well  packed  by  the  time  we 
reached  Greenpoint,  the  end  of  our  jour- 
ney. I  was  one  of  the  invited  guests.  The 
directors  of  the  company  had  made  ample 
provision  to  entertain  all  their  guests,  to- 
gether with  the  numerous  collection  of  peo- 
ple for  miles  around  who  had  assembled 
to  witness  the  arrival  of  the  first  train  at 


ST.    T.    IIUBBAED.  29 

Greenpoint.  Tae  day  was  fine,  and  in  a 
field  near  the  depot  a  sumptuous  repast  was 
spread.  It  was  truly  an  interesting  occa- 
sion, for  I  then  met  many  old  acquantainces 
whom  I  had  not  sean  for  years.  My  old 
uncle  Griffin  was  there  to  meet  me,  and 
after  the  close  of  the  entertainment  I  re- 
turned with  him  to  his  home  in  Orient, 
some  six  miles  east  of  Greenpoint,  and  spent 
the  night  with  him,  and  returned  to  New 
York  the  following  day. 

I  will  here  give  a  little  history  of  Mr. 
Griffin.  He  married  my  mother's  sister,  and 
was  altogether  one  of  the  most  agreeable 
and  pleasant  men  I  ever  knew ;  he  was 
most  excellent  company  for  either  young 
or  old.  He  died  a  few  months  before  he 
completed  his  hundredth  year.  In  early 
life  he  was  a  school  teacher,  after  relin- 
quishing which  he  opened  a  country  store 
in  Orient  (then  called  Oysterponds),  which 
he  continued  for  many  years.  During 
a  1'ong  period  of  his  life  he  kept  a  diary, 


30  AUTOBIOGKAPHY    OF 

in  which  lie  collected  and  recorded  many 
interesting  incidents,  but  more  partic- 
ularly the  history  of  all  the  earlier  set- 
tlers on  the  eastern  shores  of  Long  Isl 
and.  When  about  ninety  years  of  age, 
agreeably  to  his  previous  intention,  he,  with 
his  only  son,  a  lawyer  by  profession,  took 
up  his  old  diary  and  collected  therefrom  all 
the  most  important  incidents  it  contained, 
and  prepared  the  same  for  publication, 
which  was  duly  printed  in  1857,  under  the 
title  of  "  Griffin's  Journal."  It  covers  a  lit- 
tle over  three  hundred  pages.  I  subscribed 
for  twenty -five  copies,  and  the  only  copy 
remaining  in  my  possession  is  now  before 
me ;  the  remainder  I  have  given  away  to  my 
friends  as  they  wanted  them,  and  during 
the  past  two  or  three  years  I  have  receiv- 
ed several  letters  from  parties  residing  in 
the  West,  requesting  me  to  advise  them  if 
I  knew  where  copies  could  be  obtained. 
My  impression  is,  the  edition  is  entirely  ex- 
hausted. The  dedication  of  this  book  was, 


N.    T.    IIUBBAKD.  31 

"  To  my  son,  Sidney  L.  Griffin,  and  good  friend, 
Nathaniel  T.  Hubbard,  Esq." 

I  herewith  copy  one  extract  of  his  life, 
as  given  by  himself  in  his  own  brief  history 
as  follows :  "  It  truly  requires  wisdom 
and  prudence  to  tell  our  own  history  in 
pleasing  colors  to  all ;  yet  a  brief  notice  of 
my  morning  and  noon  of  life  will  be  of 
interest  to  my  children  and  descendants. 
I  was  the  second  child  of  James  and 
Deziah  Griffin,  their  second  son,  born  in 
the  second  month  of  the  year,  on  the  se- 
cond day  of  the  month,  and  the  second  day 
of  the  week,  and  who  knows  but  the  second 
day  or  week  of  the  moon."  These  pecu- 
liar circumstances  attending  his  birth  are 
both  curious  and.  interesting. 


I  will  now  make  a  few  remarks  on  the 
two  great  commercial  panics  of  1837  and 
1857,  which  proved  so  disastrous  to  many 
merchants  of  this  city.  I  was  doing  a 


32  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

large  b  isiness  in  provisions  during  both  of 
these  panics,  and  was  fully  prepared  to 
meet  all  iny  engagements  without  assistance 
from  any  of  my  friends,  or  even  the  banks 
where  I  then  kept  my  accounts.  It  was  in 
one  of  these  panics,  having  plenty  of  money 
on  hand,  I  went  to  all  the  banks  I  knew  of 
that  held  my  acceptances,  and  offered  to  re- 
tire them  on  the  spot,  they  allowing  me  sim- 
ple interest  at  seven  per  cent,  for  the  time 
they  had  to  mature.  The  banks  accepted 
my  proposition,  and  I  that  day  paid  up  all 
my  acceptances  but  two  which  I  could  not 
find.  Without  any  vain-boasting  (for  that 
I  despise)  I  saved  several  influential  firms 
from  suspending  payment  by  the  loan  of 
money  j  in  fact  I  was  very  easy  in  money 
through  both  of  these  panics,  notwithstand- 
ing through  one  of  them  I  paid  five  thousand 
dollars  a  day  for  three  months  together. 

I  will  now  relate  two  instances  of  re- 
lief I  afforded  during  the  last  panic.  One 
of  our  large  lines  of  canal  boats  was 


W.    T.    IIUBBAKD.  33 

in  the  habit,  during  the  dull  season  of 
freights  for  this  city,  of  purchasing  some 
five  or  six  canal  boat-loads  of  corn,  to  make 
freight  for  their  boats,  for  which  they  gave 
the  company's  note  for  thirty  days,  payable 
in  New  York.  This  company  had  five  boat- 
loads of  corn  arrive  here  during  the  last 
panic.  They  tried  in  vain  to  sell  their 
corn  in  order  to  meet  their  note,  then  about 
falling  due ;  they  applied  to  several  of  the 
large  dealers  in  grain  for  a  loan  on  it,  but 
they  all  had  obligations  of  their  own,  and 
as  much  as  they  could  stagger  under  at  the 
time.  At  length  a  deputation  of  gentlemen 
applied  to  me,  representing  the  difficulty 
of  this  canal  line,  with  a  capital  of  one 
million  of  dollars,  and  still  unable  to  meet 
their  note,  then  maturing,  unless  they  could 
raise  the  amount  on  the  corn.  They  offered 
three  per  cent,  a  month  for  the  use  of  the 
money  (the  then  current  rate  for  loans),  or 
they  would  pay  still  more  if  required.  I 
finally  consented  to  the  arrangement,  and 


34  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

gave  them  a  check  for  the  amount  of  their 
note.  On  the  thirty-seventh  day  after,  they 
sold  the  corn,  and  returned  me  the  advance, 
including  the  interest  of  three  per  cent,  a 
month,  with  their  grateful  acknowledg- 
ments for  the  favor  conferred. 

The  second  case  was  with  a  commission 
merchant  in  my  neighborhood,  with  whom 
I  was  intimately  acquainted.  He  came  one 
evening  to  my  house  on  Washington  Square 
to  see  me,  as  he  said,  on  important  business  ; 
he  finally  told  me  that  he  would  be  compel- 
led to  stop  payment  on  the  morrow  unless 
he  could  raise  a  certain  amount  of  money  to 
meet  his  note  or  acceptance  due  the  next 
day.  He  further  stated  that  he  had  spent 
the  greater  part  of  that  day  in  calling  on 
his  friends  for  assistance,  but  without 
avail ;  that  his  store  was  packed  with  goods 
from  cellar  to  garret,  but  he  could  find 
no  purchasers  who  had  money.  I  said  tc 
him :  "  My  friend,  go  home  and  calm  your- 
self and  sleep  soundly,  and  in  the  morning 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  35 

call  at  my  office,  and  I  will  loan  you  the 
amount  you  require."  His  face  brightened 
and  he  went  home  a  happy  man.  A  few 
days  after  he  returned  the  loan.  That  man 
has  ever  been  a  faithful  and  sincere  friend 
to  me,  for  he  has  never  forgotten  the  kind- 
ness I  rendered  him  in  his  financial  trou- 
bles. 

HUDSON   EIVER   EAILEOAD. 

When  it  was  contemplated  to  build  this 
road  much  opposition  was  manifested  in 
obtaining  subscriptions  to  the  undertaking 
by  our  wealthy  men  generally,  although 
it  was  conceded  that  it  would  greatly 
advance  the  interests  of  this  State  if  it 
could  be  accomplished;  but  moneyed 
men  were  in  doubt  whether  it  would  not 
be  a  losing  game  in  the  end.  At  length 
Messrs.  James  Boorman  and  Thomas  Suf- 
fern  (both  wealthy  men)  put  their  shoul- 
ders to  the  wheel,  and  pressed  their  friends 
to  lend  a  helping  hand.  They  applied  to 


36  AUTOBIOGEAPHY    OF 

me,  and  I  subscribed  for  twenty  shares,  Re- 
lieving at  the  same  time  it  would  not  pay 
a  dividend  for  many  years  to  come,  but  I 
was  interested  to  have  this  road  built ;  for 
at  that  time  I  was  doing  a  prosperous 
commission  business  in  provisions,  and  I 
made  up  my  mind  that,  if  this  road  could 
be  finished,  I  should  not  be  a  loser  in  the 
end,  if  I  should  never  get  a  dividend  on 
the  stock.  The  road  was  at  length  com- 
pleted. I  never  regretted  my  subscription 
to  the  stock.  I  derived  great  advantage 
from  it.  I  sold  my  stock  many  years  ago 
at  a  loss. 


T.    HUBBARD.  37 


CHAPTER  V. 


TRIP    TO     NIAGARA. 

DURING-  my  residence  in  Cortlandt 
Street,  some  forty-five  years  ago,  I  con- 
sulted with  my  wife  in  relation  to  our 
making  a  trip  to  Niagara  Falls  with  three 
of  our  eldest  children.  My  two  eldest 
sons  had  just  returned  home  from  their 
boarding-school  in  the  country,  to  spend 
their  summer  vacation ;  my  eldest  daugh- 
ter, also,  being  at  home  on  her  school  vaca- 
tion. It  was  soon  decided  to  make  the 
tour,  and  we  at  once  began  making  prepa- 
rations for  the  journey.  At  that  time  a 
trip  to  Niagara  would  occupy  about  the 
same  time  that  it  would  now  take  to  visit 
Europe  and  return.  At  the  appointed  time 
we  started  for  Albany,  having  previously 


38  AUTOBIOGEAPHY    OF 

made  up  our  minds  to  travel  from  Albany 
by  stage  and  canal  alternately,  as  circum- 
stances might  require.  At  this  time  there 
were  regular  lines  of  passenger-boats  on 
the  canal,  and  we  found  the  accommoda- 
tions quite  satisfactory.  Besides,  we  found 
the  change  from  boat  to  stage,  and  vice 
versa,  very  pleasant  and  refreshing.  After 
arriving  at  Buffalo,  we  spent  two  days  in 
visiting  the  place  and  seeing  its  surround- 
ings— the  place  .was  then  comparatively 
small.  On  our  travels  from  Albany  to 
Buffalo  we  passed  through  many  interest- 
ing scenes  along  the  road.  Rochester  we 
found  a  very  desolate-looking  place,  the 
streets  being  full  of  large  and  small 
stumps  of  trees,  which  had  been  removed 
for  the  construction  of  the  canal.  On 
other  portions  of  the  route  we  encountered 
swamps  and  forests  through  which  the 
canal  had  been  built.  The  country  in 
those  places  looked  desolate  indeed,  but  as 
time  has  worn  on  these  scenes  have  been 


yr.  T.  HUBBAED.  39 

changed  from  their  then  desolate-looking 
wastes  into  rural  culture  and  beauty. 

T  beg  here  to  say  that  my  recollections 
of  events  that  occurred  forty -five  years  ago 
are  much  more  indistinct  to  my  mind  now 
than  those  that  occurred  seventy -five  or 
eighty  years  ago,  for  my  memory  is  as 
fresh  now  of  the  scenes  and  recollections 
of  my  youthful  days — say  from  ten  years 
of  age — as  if  they  had  occurred  a  montli 
ago,  and  I  believe  this  fact  is  generally 
shared  by  a  great  majority  of  the  old  men 
of  the  present  day.  With  this  digression 
I  will  proceed  with  my  trip  to  Niagara. 

After  leaving  Buffalo  we  reached  the 
Falls  in  due  time.  The  first  view  of  the 
cataract,  in  all  the  splendor  of  its  magni- 
ficence, was,  indeed,  a  sight  to  fill  us  witli 
awe  and  astonishment.  Were  I  capable 
of  giving  a  description,  it  would  be  labor 
lost,  for  have  they  not  been  described  a 
thousand  times  by  writers  and  painters  of 
known  celebritv  ?  So  here  I  pause.  We 


40  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

remained  at  the  Falls  two  days.  On  the 
third  day  we  started  for  home,  stopping  on 
the  way  to  visit  Brock's  monument,  which 
to  me  was  of  little  account.  Our  return 
was  varied,  as  in  going,  by  stage  and  canal. 
If  my  memory  is  not  at  fault  we  were  be- 
tween three  and  four  weeks  in  completing 
the  journey.  We  arrived  home  in  good 
health  and  spirits,  without  accident,  well 
pleased  with  our  trip. 

THE  INAUGURATION  OF  GENERAL  HARRISON. 

At  the  Inauguration  of  General  Harrison 
we  made  up  a  small  party  here  to  pro- 
ceed to  Washington  to  attend  the  cere- 
monies. Mr.  N.  H.  Wolfe,  Mr.  Philetus 
Holt,  Mr.  Sherry  of  New  Bedford,  myself, 
and  two  or  three  others  (whose  names  I 
have  forgotten),  constituted  our  party. 
We  left  for  Washington  the  previous  day 
and  arrived  there  in  the  evening.  All  the 
hotels  were  filled  to  their  utmost,  and  at 


N.    T.    HUBBAKD.  41 

first  we  had  some  difficulty  in  securing  lodg- 
ings, but  through  the  kindness  of  a  friend 
we  were  recommended  to  a  house  (a  private 
boarding-house)  kept  by  a  very  gentlemanly 
Irishman  and  his  wife,  where  we  succeeded 
in  securing  very  comfortable  quarters. 
The  cuisine  of  the  establishment,  somewhat 
to  our  surprise,  compared  favorably  with 
that  of  many  of  the  prominent  hotels. 
The  landlord  and  his  wife  exerted  them- 
selves to  make  us  as  comfortable  a,s  possi- 
ble. Our  supper  table  was  spread  with 
all  the  delicacies  of  the  season,  and  served 
to  our  entire  satisfaction.  In  the  morning 
after  breakfast  we  repaired  to  the  Capitol, 
to  witness  the  Inauguration  Ceremonies, 
after  which  we  returned  to  our  hotel, 
where  we  found  our  landlord  and  wife 
had  prepared  for  us  a  splendid  dinner, 
which  would  have  done  honor  to  any  hotel 
in  Washington.  lu  the  evening  a  few  of 
our  party  attended  the  ball,  the  others 
remaining  at  home.  On  the  following 


42  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

morning  we  left  for  home,  after  compli- 
menting our  landlord  and  lady  on  the 
elegant  manner  we  had  been  entertained. 
We  all  arrived  in  safety,  highly  pleased 
with  our  trip  to  Washington. 

In  connection  with  the  above,  I  wish  to 
say  that  I  visited  Washington,  many  years 
previous  to  the  visit  just  spoken  of,  to 
settle  some  business  matters  with  a  resi- 
dent of  that  city.  This  visit  occurred 
during  the  administration  of  General  Jack- 
son. While  there  I  concluded  to  call  and 
pay  my  respects  to  the  President.  He 
received  me  very  graciously,  and  after  a 
few  remarks  I  retired. 


N.    T.    HUBBARD. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE      OLD      MAYOES. 

I  WILL  now  refer  to  some  of  our  leading 
public  men  and  politicians  of  earlier  days. 
Cadwallader  D.  Golden  was  mayor  of  this 
city  in  the  earlier  part  of  this  century. 
His  residence  at  the  time  was  on  the  cor- 
ner of  William  and  Stone  Streets.  He 
was  esteemed  as  a  very  polished  gentle- 
man, and  gave  frequent  entertainments  at 
his  house.  He  was  universally  beloved 
by  all  who  knew  him.  Richard  Varick,  a 
gentleman  of  the  old  school,  was  also 
mayor  of  this  city  for  a  time.  His  resi- 
dence at  that  time  was  on  the  corner  of 
Broadway  and  Pine  Street.  He  was  very 
aristocratic  in  his  general  appearance  and 
dress.  He  invariably  wore  smallclothes, 


44  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

with  silk  stockings  and  silver  buckles,  in 
the  summer  season.  He  was  much 
esteemed  by  all  who  knew  him.  He  was 
a  man  of  fortune,  and  passed  on  through 
life  as  a  gentleman  of  leisure. 

Walter  Bowne,  a  gentleman  of  fortune, 
was  another  of  our  early  mayors.  I  can 
speak  of  him  more  definitely,  for  I  was 
personally  acquainted  with  him,  as  I  have 
before  remarked.  I  was  a  tenant  six  years 
in  one  of  his  houses,  and  he  was,  without 
exception,  the  best  and  most  accommodat- 
ing landlord  I  ever  lived  under.  When  I 
first  rented  his  house  he  handed  me  his 
card  with  the  names  of  his  different 
mechanics,  with  directions  to  call  on  them 
for  any  repairs  I  might  require  on  the 
premises,  and  charge  the  bills  to  him.  He 
was  one  of  the  most  pleasant  and  agreeable 
gentlemen  I  ever  knew. 

Stephen '  Allen  was  mayor  of  this  city 
for  one  or  two  terms.  With  him  and  his 
family  I  was  very  early  acquainted.  He 


N.    T.    HUBBAKD.  45 

formerly  lived  in  the  Bowery,  but  after- 
wards removed  to  the  corner  of  Washing- 
ton Square  and  University  Place,  where 
he  had  built,  in  connection  with  several  of 
our  wealthy  citizens,  the  noble  block  of 
buildings  fronting  the  park.  I  resided 
twenty-nine  years  on  the  block  below,  run- 
ning from  Fifth  Avenue  to  Macdougal 
Street.  My  family,  particularly  the 
younger  female  portion  of  them,  were 
almost  in  daily  communication  with  the 
younger  branches  of  his  family,  by  his 
second  wife,  while  my  own  sisters  were 
more  intimately  associated  with  his  daugh- 
ters by  his  first  wife.  Mr.  Allen,  for  many 
years,  kept  a  large  "  duck  store ;"  was  suc- 
cessful in  business,  and  at  the  same  time 
an  active  politician  of  the  Democratic 
school,  and  was  for  many  years  one  of  the 
sachems  of  Tammany  Hall,  Avith  Benjamin 
Bailey  and  John  Targee,  who  were  the 
then  principal  leaders  of  that  day  in  the 
Democratic  camp.  And  here  permit  me 


46  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

to  copy,  from  my  favorite  poet,  Halleck, 
a  few  lines  from  his  address  to  Rich- 
ard Hiker  (formerly  Recorder  of  this  city 
for  many  years),  they  being  so  applicable 
to  the  three  gentlemen  above  named : 

And  Halleck,  who  has  made  thy  roof, 

Saint  Tammany,  oblivion  proof, 

Thy  years  illustrious,  and  thee 

A  belted  knight  of  chivalry, 

And  changed  thy  dome  of  painted  bricks, 

And  porter  casks  and  politics, 

Into  a  green  Arcadian  vale, 

With  Stephen  Allen  for  its  lark, 

Ben  Bailey's  voice  its  watchdog's  bark, 

And  John  Targee  its  nightingale. 

Halleck  was  a  great  satirist,  as  his  poem 
to  Fanny  will  fully  testify,  for  in  it  he 
had  a  hit  at  all  the  principal  prominent 
characters  of  the  day.  But  to  return  to 
Mr.  Allen.  He  made  a  most  excellent 
mayor,  and  was  withal  a  very  honest  man. 
He  was  self-educated,  and  a  man  of  strong 
common  sense,  with  strong  prejudices 


N.    T.    HUBBAED.  47 

whenever  lie  took  a  dislike  to  any  one.  He 
was  kind  and  good-hearted  to  all  his 
friends.  Thus  much  I  knew  of  Stephen 
Allen,  and  now  I  have  a  melancholy  duty 
to  perform ;  that  is,  the  recital  of  the  sad 
ending  of  his  life.  I  was  on  my  way  home 
from  Saratoga,  travelling  by  the  Hudson 
River  Railroad,  and  when  within  some 
twelve  or  fifteen  miles  of  the  city  we  dis- 
covered a  steamer  on  fire  a  few  miles 
ahead  of  us,  which  proved  to  be  the  Henry 
Clay,  with  her  bows  turned  to  the  beach, 
all  in  flames  from  stem  to  stern.  Most  of 
the  passengers  who  were  near  the  bows 
when  she  struck  the  beach  jumped  into  the 
comparatively  shoal  water  and  thus  saved 
themselves,  while  others  miserably  per- 
ished. Mr.  Allen  was  found  among  the 
drowned.  Our  train  remained  by  the  scene 
for  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  and  brought 
many  of  the  rescued  to  the  city.  When 
the  train  left  the  appalling  scene  Mr. 
Allen's  body  had  not  been  recovered,  but 


48  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

it  was  found  shortly  after.     Thus  ended  a 
busy  and  useful  life. 

Philip  Hone  was  mayor  of  this  city  for 
one  term,  and  decidedly  one  of  the  most 
popular  mayors  this  city  ever  had.  Mr. 
Hone  had  retired  from  business  some  time 
previous,  with  an  ample  fortune.  The  old 
firm  of  John  &,  Philip  Hone,  auctioneers, 
were  widely  known  throughout  this  city 
for  their  honesty,  industry,  and  integrity, 
which  gave  them  unlimited  credit,  which 
enabled  them  to  do  a  large  and  successful 
business  for  many  years.  Mr.  Hone  lived 
during  his  mayoralty  in  Broadway,  next 
door  to  the  corner  of  College  Place.  It  was 
then  esteemed  the  most  beautiful  residence 
in  the  city.  He  was  mayor  when  Lafay- 
ette arrived  here  on  a  visit  to  this  country, 
and  speaking  of  this  great  man  I  would 
remark,  that  the  enthusiasm  throughout 
the  whole  country  was  manifested  in  a 
thousand  different  ways  to  do  honor  to 
him  who  rendered  such  important  services 


IT.    T.    HUBBAKD.  49 

during  our  Revolutionary  struggle.  A 
magnificent  entertainVneut  was  given  him 
here  at  Castle  Garden ;  it^ook  several 
days  to  complete  the  arrangements  for  this 
grand  fete.  Myself,  wife,  and  eldest 
daughter  were  present  on  this  occasion. 
It  was  a  scene  always  to  be  remembered, 
and  although  fifty  years  have  passed  away 
since  then,  the  scene  is  as  vivid  and  fresh 
to  my  mind  now  as  it  was  on  the  night  of 
its  celebration.  In  the  morning  Lafay- 
ette was  to  leave  for  Boston.  Mayor 
Hone  had  prepared  at  his  palatial  resi- 
dence a  magnificent  breakfast  in  his  honor, 
to  which  were  invited,  with  his  own  pri- 
vate friends,  all  the  officers  of  the  regiment 
detailed  to  accompany  him  from  this  city. 
It  was  a  costly  and  splendid  entertain- 
ment, and  I  cannot  forb.ear  at  the  moment 
again  quoting  from  my  old  friend  Halleck, 
for  the  lines  are  so  very  appropriate  and 
applicable  to  Mr.  Hone : 


50  ATITOBIOGEAPHY    OP 

Oh  !  hone  a'  rie  !  oh  !  hone  a'  rie  ! 

The  hymn  o'er  hsjppy  days  departed ; 
The  hope  that  such  again  may  be, 

When  power  was  large  and  liberal-hearted, 
And  wealth  was  hospitality. 

Mr.  Andrew  H.  Mickle  was  elected 
mayor  after  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Hone. 
This  election  was  bought  of  the  sachems 
of  Tammany  Hall  by  Mrs.  Russell,  the  to- 
bacconist and  the  mother-in-law  of  the  in- 
cumbent. She  sent  a  letter  to  the  rulers 
of  Tammany  with  a  pledge  to  give  them 
$5,000  on  condition  they  would  nominate 
and  elect  her  son-in-law  to  the  office  of 
mayor  of  this  city.  The  bait  was  accepted 
and  he  was  accordingly  put  in  nomination 
and  elected,  and  the  85,000  promptly  paid. 
He  was  a  man  utterly  disqualified  for  the 
office  of  mayor,  having  been  brought  up 
behind  the  tobacco-counter  of  Mrs.  Russell, 
who  then  kept  in  Water  near  Wall  Street. 
Mrs.  Russell  was  a  strong  Democrat,  and 
on  election  days  always  gave  to  her  work- 


N.    T.    HTJBBARD.  51 

men  (of  whom  she  employed  a  large  num- 
ber) a  holiday  for  electioneering  purposes. 
Her  death  was  caused  by  an  accident  hap- 
pening in  her  own  store.  As  I  have  said 
before,  Mr.  Mickle  was  entirely  disquali- 
fied for  the  duties  of  the  office,  for  he  was 
an  uneducated  man,  and  his  natural  abili- 
ties of  a  very  common  order,  but  he  was 
fortunate  in  the  selection  of  a  young  man 
of  very  fair  talents  (Mr.  Ming)  to  admin- 
ister the  duties  of  the  office,  and  matters 
proceeded  on  in  a  comparatively  quiet  man- 
ner. The  father  of  Mr.  Ming  was  an  old 
and  intimate  acquaintance  of  mine.  His 
profession  was  a  printer,  and  for  many 
years  he  published  the  only  almanac  then 
current  in  this  city.  He  had  some  peculia- 
rities, one  of  which  was  that  he  never  wore 
a  necktie  either  in  summer  or  winter — 
his  throat  was  always  bare.  I  have  little 
or  nothing  to  add  to  Mr.  Mickle's  adminis- 
tration of  the  office  of  mayor,  more  than 
to  say  that  he  passed  through  his  duties, 


52  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

with  the  aid  and  assistance  of  Mr.  Ming, 
quite  satisfactorily  to  the  political  party 
which  elected  him. 

Mr.  Havemeyer,  our  late  mayor,  was 
elected  to  the  same  office  some  twenty 
years  ago.  I  knew  him  personally  for 
many  years  and,  always  esteemed  him  a 
straightforward  and  honest  man.  He  was 
originally  a  Democrat,  and  I  have  reason 
to  believe  his  bias  continued  that  way. 

I  now  come  to  my  old  friend,  Mayor 
Kingsland,  of  the  old  firm  of  D.  &  A. 
Kingsland.  I  have  been  personally  ac- 
quainted with  this  gentleman  for  many 
years,  and  frequently  visited  his  house  on 
Fifth  Avenue,  where  he  still  resides.  .1 
had  been  in  the  habit,  for  years,  of  supply- 
ing their  vessels  with  provisions  until  they 
abandoned  that  branch  of  their  business. 
Mr.  Kingsland,  when  mayor,  gave  general 
satisfaction  in  his  administration  of  the 
office,  and  was  universally  esteemed  as  an 
honest  public  servant. 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  53 

With  the  politicians  of  the  present  day 
I  never  intermeddle,  but  I  always  vote  at 
every  election.  I  have  always  been  a  Whig 
and  Republican.  I  never  sought  for  office, 
for  the  simple  reason  I  never  wanted  one. 
The  life  of  a  professional  politician  is,  at 
the  best,  a  roving  one,  and  subject  to  many 
changes  in  the  political  turn  of  the  wheel. 
Of  the  later  incumbents  of  the  mayor's  office 
I  know  but  little,  and  the  present  genera- 
tion of  politicians  are  much  better  posted 
in  regard  to  their  merits  and  demerits  than 
I  am.  Therefore  I  have  no  more  to  say 
on  this  subject. 


The  most  celebrated  surgeons  and  physi- 
cians of  the  olden  time,  some  fifty  or  sixty 
years  ago,  were  Hosack,  Post,  Stevens, 
Mott,  and  Cheesnian,  and  many  others 
whose  names  I  do  not  recollect.  In  di- 
vinity we  had  Dr.  Wainwright,  Dr.  Potts, 
Dr.  Mason,  who  stood  at  the  head  of  the 


54  AUTOUIOGKAPHY    OF 

profession,  Dr.  Milledoler,  Dr.  Livingston, 
Dr.  Hobart,  Dr.  Spring,  Dr.  Hawks,  Dr. 
Adams,  and  several  others  of  equal  cele- 
brity. Dr.  Adams  is  the  only  one  now 
living ;  the  remainder  have  all  gone  to  reap 
their  reward.  At  this  present  time  we  have 
many  clergymen  of  equal  power  and  abil- 
ity, who  compare  most  favorably  with 
their  predecessors. 


In  looking  back,  some  seventy  or  eighty 
years,  my  mind  becomes  confused  in  bring- 
ing to  my  memory  a  thousand  little  inci- 
dents that  have  occurred  in  this  city,  which 
might  prove  somewhat  interesting  to-  the 
present  generation  if  I  had  the  memory 
and  skill  to  relate  them.  But  if  any  of 
them  should  flash  on  my  mind  during  the 
recital  of  this  short  history,  I  will  add 
them  to  these  pages  before  they  are  closed. 

And  here  I  have  a  word  or  two  to  say 
on  my  own  account.  It  strikes  me  very 


N.    T.    HUBBABD.  OO 

forcibly  that  the  inflation  of  the  currency, 
which  bill  has  been  so  long  the  leading 
topic  of  discussion  in  Congress,  and  which 
has  been  passed  by  both  houses  in  direct 
opposition  to  all  our  leading  mercantile 
men  of  the  country,  is  a  strong  evidence  to 
me  that  one-half  its  members  are  totally 
unfit  for  the  stations  they  occupy.  We 
want  experienced  merchants  and  bankers 
in  place  of  lawyers  and  professional  poli- 
ticians to  legislate  on  financial  subjects,  so 
vital  to  the  credit,  and  honor,  and  future 
welfare  of  our  country.  We  unfortunately 
have  in  our  legislative  halls  many  unprin- 
cipled men,  who  only  desire  to  carry  out 
their  own  views. 

April  24, 1874. — My  evening  paper,  "  The 
Commercial  Advertiser,"  of  yesterday 
gave  me  the  pleasing  and  gratifying  intel- 
ligence of  the  veto  of  the  Expansion  Cur- 
rency Bill.  I  rejoice  that  President  Grant 
had  the  firmness  and  conviction  of  his  duty 
to  himself  as  well  as  to  the  citizens  gener- 


56  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

ally,  to  crush  out  a  bill  so  evidently  injuri- 
ous to  the  credit  and  honor  of  our  country, 
as  well  as  to  a  great  majority  of  our  fel- 
low-citizens ;  for,  in  the  event  of  its  having 
been  sustained,  it  might  have  enriched  a 
few  and  caused  ruin  to  many.  These  are 
my  views  on  this  subject,  and  may  be  taken 
for  what  they  are  worth,  but  if  I  mistake 
not  the  majority  will  coincide  with  my 
opinion. 


T.    HUBBAKD.  57 


CHAPTER  VII. 


TKEKE  are  so  many  circumstances,  and 
such  a  variety  of  incidents  that  have  oc- 
curred during  my  morning,  noon,  and  de- 
cline in  life,  that  my  memory  fails  me, 
and  I  am  unable  to  grasp  many  important 
events  that  should  be  contained  in  this 
history,  as  well  as  many  events  of  minor 
importance  that  would  not  particularly 
interest  my  friends  or  readers.  Hence 
when  a  flash  of  some  important  incident 
crosses  my  mind  I  at  once  note  it  down, 
however  inapplicable  it  may  be  to  my  pre- 
vious observations.  There  are  many  bril- 
liant and  beautiful  writers  in  the  present 
day,  but,  as  I  have  before  remarked,  the 
names  of  Irving  and  Cooper  will  live  when 


58  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

the  great  mass  of  the  present  writers  will 
be  forgotten. 

I  wish  again  to  pay  a  slight  tribute  to 
one  of  my  favorites,  Mr.  John  G.  Saxe.  I 
have  always  admired  this  man ;  his  poetry 
has  an  expression  that  will  convey  to  the 
most  uncultivated  mind  the  ideas  he  por- 
trays; 

The  literary  productions  of  years  ago, 
compared  with  the  present  time,  were  very 
meagre.  I  am  of  course  only  alluding  to 
our  own  country.  There  have  sprung  into 
existence  so  many  that  gain  a  livelihood 
by  writing  that  their  name  is  legion. 
Some  good,  many  worthless.  But  in  look- 
ing back  and  remembering,  as  I  well  do,  the 
beautiful  stories  of  Irving  and  Cooper,  and 
making  comparison  with  the  writers  of  the 
present  day,  I  fail  to  find  their  equals,  and 
I  fear  it  will  yet  be  long  before  they  are 
matched.  I  read  and  have  read  to  me  so 
much,  that  I  feel  competent  to  judge  of  this 
question  without  any  egotism  on  my  part. 


N.    T.    HUBBAKD.  59 

When  I  first  thought  of  writing  these 
papers,  I  proclaimed  that,  in  the  event  of 
my  doing  so,  I  would  not  have  them  pub- 
lished until  after  my  death ;  but  after 
having  commenced  them,  several  of  my 
friends  insisted  on  having  them  published 
during  my  lifetime.  After  reflecting  on 
the  subject,  I  finally  made  up  my  mind  to 
do  so,  in  case  I  completed  them  before  that 
event  took  place.  In  contemplating  my 
own  dissolution  at  no  distant  day,  I  feel 
perfectly  reconciled  to  the  will  of  my 
Heavenly  Father.  He  has  already  prolong- 
ed my  life  far  beyond  the  ordinary  age  of 
man.  He  has  blest  me  in  giving  me  liber- 
ally of  the  good  things  of  this  world,  but 
in  my  later  years  He  has  seen  fit  to  with- 
draw from  me  the  greater  portion  of  that 
independence"  I  once  possessed. 

There  are  such  an  infinitude  of  sub- 
jects connected  with  the  history  of  a  long, 
active  business  life,  that  it  requires  much 
time  and  thought  to  get  at  the  more  salient 


60  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

points  of  interest,  and  communicate  the 
same  in  pleasing  and  glowing  colors  to 
your  friends ;  there  are  such  a  great  variety 
of  subjects  treated  on  at  the  present  day 
by  writers  of  known  ability  and  influence, 
many  of  them  professional  writers,  that  I 
am  almost  constrained  at  times  to  lay  aside 
my  pen  and  consign  to  the  waste-basket 
what  little  I  have  written,  as  of  little  or 
no  use  to  my  fellow-beings.  But  if  happily 
there  should  be  a  few  passages  worth  pre- 
serving by  my  friends,  I  shall  be  satisfied. 
There  are  various  systematic  writers  who 
acquire  for  themselves  and  families  a  fine 
support,  and  many  of  them  become  inde- 
pendent. 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  61 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

MY  BIRTHDAY. 

MAY  29,  1874. — This  is  my  eighty-ninth 
birthday.  I  now  enter  on  my  ninetieth 
year.  When  I  look  back  on  my  past  life 
it  simply  appears  as  a  dream.  I  have 
lived  nineteen  years  longer  than  the  time 
allotted  to  man,  through  the  interposition 
of  a  Divine  Providence,  but  for  what  cause 
or  end  I  know  not.  Were  a  man  to  live  a 
thousand  years  it  would  be  but  a  very 
short  period  of  time  when  compared  with 
the  eternity  that  follows.  Eternity !  that 
dreadful  thought  of  untried  beings.  Some 
fifty  years  ago  I  heard  a  sermon  preached 
by  the  Rev.  Hooper  Gumming,  son  of  Gen- 
eral Gumming,  then  of  Newark,  New  Jer- 
sey, in  which  he  said :  "  With  the  dead 


62  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

time  ceases  to  be,  till  the  resurrection  of 
the  body,  whether  that  event  occurs  in  a 
thousand  or  tens  of  thousands  of  years; 
hence  its  identity  and  freshness  will  be  like 
a  morning  dream."  Before  Adam  was  cre- 
ated by  the  fiat  of  Almighty  God  millions 
of  ages  had  rolled  on,  and  will  continue  to 
roll  on  through  the  ceaseless  ages  of  eter- 
nity. Philosophers  tell  us  there  are 
planets  so  remote  in  space  that  there  has 
not  been  time  for  their  light  to  reach  our 
globe  since  its  creation.  The  thoughts  of 
man  cannot  grasp  the  boundless  creations 
of  Almighty  God,  and  not  until  the  resur- 
rection of  our  mortal  bodies  into  spiritual 
existence,  may  we  begin  to  learn  the 
heights  and  depths  of  the  wonder-working 
powers  of  the  Godhead. 

There  has  been  for  many  years  a  fixed 
principle  of  belief  in  my  mind  (although  I 
have  not  met  with  the  idea  in  any  writings 
that  have  come  under  my  observation), 
that  every  intelligent  being  born  into  this 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  63 

world  has  born  within  him  a  little  world 
of  his  own,  which  is  as  distinct  from  that  of 
any  other  being  as  the  features  of  one  face 
differ  from  another.  There  is  a  mystery 
in  relation  to  this  within  us — that  we 
cannot  communicate  to  our  best  and  dearest 
friends  the  subtle  influences  that  govern 
this  inner  life,  however  liberally  endowed 
with  talents  of  the  most  brilliant  order ; 
there  is  no  language  in  which  we  can  begin 
to  convey,  or  even  describe,  the  workings 
of  this  little  world  within  us.  It  may  be 
called  by  many  one  of  the  thousand  Isms 
that  abound  with  our  theologians,  but  for 
myself  I  know  it  to  be  a  truth  with  me 
as  sure  as  I  know  I  am  a  live  and  moral 
being. 

I  must  avail  myself  once  more  of  a 
quotation  from  my  favorite  poet  Halleck ; 
it  so  fully  illustrates  my.  present  age  and 
condition;  with  the  exception  of  the  last 
six  lines,  which  I  cannot  appropriate  to 
myself,  but  which  are  necessary  to  fill  out 


64  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

the   beautiful    poetic    inspiration   of    the 
author : 

But  many  are  my  years,  and  few 

Are  left  me  ere  night's  holy  dews 

And  sorrow's  holier  tears  will  keep 

The  grass  green,  when  in  Death  I  sleep. 

And  when  that  grass  is  green  above  me, 

And  those  that  bless  me  now,  and  love  me, 

Are  sleeping  by  my  side, 

Will  it  avail  me  aught  that  men 

Tell  to  the  world  with  lip  and  pen 

That  once  I  lived  and  died? 

No !     If  a  garland  for  my  brow 

Is  growing,  let  me  have  it  now, 

While  I'm  alive  to  wear  it; 

And  if  in  whispering  my  name 

There's  music  in  the  voice  of  fame, 

Like  Garcia's,  let  me  hear  it. 

As  previously  observed,  the  last  six  lines 
I  disclaim  all  appropriation  of  to  myself, 
for  the  reason  I  never  had  the  vanity  to 
believe  that  any  public  or  private  act  of 
mine  ever  entitled  me  to  a  "garland  for 
my  brow,"  or  to  any  fame  beyond  what 


N.    T.    HUBBAED. 


any  of  my  fellow-citizens  are  entitled,  who 
pass  through  life  with  the  reputation  of 
honest  industry  and  integrity  of  character. 


AUTOBIOGKAPHY    OF 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE    OLD    CITY   HOTEL. 

THIS  old  building  was  demolished  many 
years  ago.  In  1800  it  was  one  of  the  most 
prominent  landmarks  in  the  lower  part  of 
this  city,  and  it  appeared  almost  a  sacri- 
lege to  blot  it  out  of  existence.*  When  I 
recur  back  to  the  many  happy  hours  I  have 
spent  under  its  roof,  and  bring  to  my  me- 
mory those  (all  dead  and  gone)  who  were 
my  contemporaries,  it  makes  me  sad  indeed. 

*  There  are  many  interesting  associations  connected  with 
the  old  City  Hotel,  that  will  remain  with  me  through  life. 
During  my  residence  in  Cortlandt  Street  I  was  a  frequent 
visitor  there.  Mr.  Charruaud,  so  well  known  to  all  old  New 
Yorkers,  had  his  dancing-school  there,  and  those  of  my 
children  who  were  old  enough,  attended  it.  It  became  a 
general  rendezvous  for  the  meeting  of  friends  on  their  re- 
turn from  business  to  their  homes. 


M".    T.    HUBBARD.  (\7 

It  was  in  this  hotel  that  our  musical  enter- 
tainments were  given.  In  this  hotel  as- 
sembled the  beauty  and  fashion  of  the 
city,  but  it  has  vanished  from  the  scene. 
But  what  a  history  it  might  tell  of  lives 
made  miserable,  and  of  those  made  happy  ! 
In  recording  these  recollections  of  the  old 
landmarks  of  this  city,  and  remembering, 
as  I  well  do,  the  social  hours  passed  among 
them,  it  is  a  pleasure  to  look  back,  and 
again,  in  imagination,  visit  the  scenes  of  so 
much  pleasure  and  enjoyment. 


THE    ASTOR    HOUSE. 

This  house  has  become  one  of  the  old 
landmarks  of  our  city,  and  its  proprietors, 
the  Messrs.  Stetson,  deserve  the  praise  of 
all.  It  has  been  conducted  in  such  a  way 
that  it  has  drawn  within  its  portals  the 
greatest  statesmen  of  the  country.  It  has 
for  many  years  been  the  rendezvous  of  the 
chiefs  of  the  Republican  party.  The  Hon. 


68  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

Daniel  Webster  had  his  rooms  at  this 
house  whenever  he  visited  the  city.  I 
have  but  few  associations  connected  with 
this  hotel  beyond  those  Republican  leaders. 
In  fact,  the  Astor  House  has  always  been 
considered  one  of  the  best  conducted  hotels 
in  this  country. 

THE    NEW    YORK    HOTEL. 

This  hotel  was  built  many  years  ago. 
It  occupies  one  entire  block.  There  was 
formerly  on  this  ground  a  large  double 
frame  building  occupied  for  many  years 
as  a  public-house.  I  distinctly  recollect, 
some  forty  or  more  years  ago,  of  being 
invited  by  a  number  of  acquaintances  to 
join  them  in  patronizing  a  once  prominent 
broker,  who  became  unfortunate,  and  who 
was  at  that  time  the  proprietor  of  the 
above-named  premises.  I  joined  the  party, 
consisting  of  some  thjrty  or  forty,  and  pro- 
ceeded on  a  Saturday  afternoon  to  a  dinner 


N.    T.    HUBBAKD.  69 

of  green  turtle  at  one  dollar  a  head.  At 
that  time  we  had  no  public  stages,  so  we 
concluded  to  walk  there  and  back  instead 
of  hiring  coaches  for  this  purpose.  Suffice 
it  to  say  we  had  a  very  pleasant  entertain- 
ment, and  returned  home  in  good  condition 
by  bedtime.  During  the  Yellow  Fever 
Year  those  of  us  who  were  members  of  the 
Exchange  arranged  with  the  landlord  of 
this  house  to  meet  there  daily  from  twelve 
to  two  o'clock,  and  thus  we  held*  our  re- 
gular meetings  until  the  abatement  of  the 
fever  and  our  return  down-town. 

There  are  many  pleasing  associations  con- 
nected with  the  New  York  Hotel.  Living 
for  so  many  years  adjacent  to  it,  I  was 
in  the  habit  of  visiting  there  very  often, 
and  being  intimate  with  the  landlords  I 
was  almost  as  much  at  home  as  at  my 
own  house.  The  associations  and  new  ac- 
quaintances formed  there  have  left  a 
pleasing  recollection  on  my  mind  that  I 
can  never  forget.  At  that  time  I  was  very 


70  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

fond  of  the  game  of  billiards,  and  often 
joined  in  the  amusement.  Although  I  was 
far  from  being  a  skilful  player,  there  were, 
however,  many  others  no  better  than  my- 
self, and  hence  I  as  often  won  as  lost  a 
game.  For  many  years  past  there  has  been 
wonderful  improvement  in  this  scientific 
game,  and  the  skill  exercised  in  the  great 
matches,  now  often  played,  draw  together 
hundreds  of  persons  to  witness  them.  But 
it  is  now  a  number  of  years  since  my  fail- 
ing eyesight  has  prevented  me  from  wit- 
nessing any  of  these  great  matches,  were  I 
disposed  so  to  do.  My  friend,  Colonel 
Isaac  H.  Reed,  an  old  boarder  at  this  hotel, 
was  very  fond  of  this  game ;  he  was  a 
bold,  dashing  player — he  understood  the 
game  perfectly. 

Previous  to  our  civil  war  this  hotel  was 
the  favorite  resort  of  most  of  our  Southern 
visitors ;  it  still  continues  to  receive  their 
patronage.  Since  its  erection  it  has  had 
several  landlords,  but  I  have  always  under- 


N.    T.    HUBBAKD.  71 

stood  that  they  were  well  patronized  and 
retired  with  ample  means.  May  success 
attend  the  present  occupants  ! 

WASHINGTON     HALL. 

This  building  was  erected  some  fifty  or 
sixty  years  ago,  on  the  site  of  Stewart's 
wholesale  dry-goods  store,  by  the  then  po- 
litical party  called  Federalists,  of  which 
Isaac  Seabring  was  president  at  that  time. 
It  was  a  large  hotel,  and  kept  by  a  Captain 
Croker  for  many  years.  At  the  close  of 
our  war  of  1812  there  was  a  splendid  ban- 
quet given  in  honor  of  the  occasion  in  this 
hotel  by  the  aristocracy  of  our  city,  in 
which  the  renowned  Dominick  Lynch  pre- 
sided. I  was  told  by  two  or  three  of  my 
personal  friends  who  were  present  on  that 
occasion,  that  it  was  certainly  the  most 
spendid  and  brilliant  display  of  beauty  and 
fashion  that  had  ever  before  been  seen  in 
this  city.  The  great  majority  of  the  par- 
ticipants are  now  in  their  graves. 


72  AUTOBIOGRAPHY   OF 

Louis  Napoleon  during  his  visit  to  this 
country  made  this  hotel  his  headquarters. 
There  is  one  fact  well  authenticated — that 
for  several  years  previous  to  its  demolition 
there  was  a  large  club  of  our  most  influen- 
tial merchants  who  met  there  nightly  for 
the  express  purpose  of  gambling ;  and  more 
than  a  dozen  names  (now  in  their  graves)  I 
am  familiar  with  to  this  day,  but  both  honor 
and  delicacy  forbid  my  using  them.  Un- 
fortunately one  respectable  blackleg  got  an 
introduction  to  this  club,  and  was  elected  a 
member;  soon  after  he  displayed  his  cloven 
foot  by  secreting  in  his  coatsleeve  some  im- 
portant cards,  and  was  at  length  detected 
in  using  one  of  them  to  great  advantage. 
This  created  a  great  row,  and  he  was  ex- 
pelled from  the  club  on  the  spot ;  by  some 
means  the  news  got  out  the  next  day,  and 
created  much  excitement  at  the  time. 

The  Federalists,  who  erected  Washing- 
ton Hall,  did  not  flourish  many  years,  and 
eventually  disbanded  altogether.  Their 


N.    T.    HUBBAKD.  73 

members   finally   united   themselves    with 
the  Democratic  or  Whig  organizations. 

There  was  a  book  published  here  many 
years  ago  called  "The  Federalist."  The 
articles  it  contained  were  contributed  by 
the  ablest  writers  of  the  day,  and  had  an 
extensive  circulation.  There  may  be  copies 
of  the  work  still  on  hand  in  some  of  the 
leading  bookstores,  or  they  may  be  extinct. 
Washington  Hall  was  finally  purchased  by 
Mr.  Stewart,  and  on  its  site  is  erected  the 
stately  store,  sacred  to  dry-goods  and  Mr. 
Stewart. 


74  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE    CHOLERA    OF    1832. 

THERE  are  many  thrilling  incidents  that 
have  occurred  in  this  city  within  the  past 
forty  or  fifty  years.  The  cholera,  which 
broke  out  here  in  1832,  raged  fearfully, 
and  a  large  proportion  of  the  citizens  left 
the  city  for  different  parts  of  the  country. 
I  then  resided  with  my  family  in  Cortlandt 
Street,  and,  singular  as  it-  may  appeal', 
every  family  in  this  street,  but  my  own 
and  one  other,  between  Broadway  and 
Greenwich  Street,  left  the  city.  I  re- 
mained with  my  family  throughout  the 
epidemic.  My  store  at  this  time  was  in 
Broad  Street,  near  Front.  I  had  a  colored 
servant  living  with  me  at  this  time.  He 
and  myself  were  the  only  two  persons  who 


JT.    T.    HUBBARD.  75 

left  the  door  of  my  house  for  six  weeks. 
"We  adopted  regular  rules  of  government 
in  my  family,  under  the  advice  of  my 
family  physician,  Dr.  Stephen  Brown.  I 
always  had  in  my  house  the  usual  reme- 
dies then  in  use.  I  went  regularly  to 
Washington  Market  every  morning  after 
breakfast.  I  bought  the  best  fresh  beef 
and  steaks  for  one  day,  and  young  chickens 
to  roast  or  broil  the  next.  On  my  return 
from  market  I  went  to  my  store,  and  there 
was  scarcely  a  morning,  for  two  months, 
that  I  did  not  meet  on  Broadway  from 
three  to  six  ambulances,  with  cholera 
patients  on  their  way  to  the  hospital  in 
the  Park,  formerly  the  old  jail,  but  now 
the  Hall  of  Records.  I  became  so  famil- 
iar with  these  scenes  daily  in  going  to 
my  office  and  returning  home,  that  they 
did  not  seem  to  affect  my  usual  nervous 
temperament.  I  left  my  store  at  four 
o'clock,  and  remained  home  until  the  next 
morning.  My  family  escaped  this  epi- 


76  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OP 

demic,  with  one  exception.  One  of  my 
daughters,  twelve  or  thirteen  years  of  age, 
was  suddenly  taken  with  all  the  symptoms. 
We  administered  at  once  the  remedies  pre- 
scribed, and  dispatched  my  servant  with 
all  haste  for  our  physician,  who  fortu- 
nately was  at  home,  and  they  returned  to- 
gether. The  doctor  was  with  her  for  six 
hours,  when  he  pronounced  her  in  safety 
and  left  for  home.  In  many  cases  the  pa- 
tients died  in  six  hours  from  the  first 
attack.  It  was  very  malignant  and  fatal. 

Some  -few  years  earlier  we  were  visited 
with  the  yellow  fever,  which  spread  death 
and  destruction  throughout  the  city.  A 
large  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  re- 
moved from  the  city.  My  family  then  re- 
sided in  Frankfort  Street,  near  Pearl  and 
Franklin  Square.  I  removed  my  family 
to  New  Windsor,  Orange  County,  closing 
my  house,  with  hundreds  of  other  families. 
Several  of  my  friends  and  neighbors  re- 
moved above  Spring  Street,  on  the  North 


N.    T.    IIUBBAKD.  77 

River,  erected  shanties,  and  removed  a 
portion  of  their  goods  from  their  stores 
down  town,  and  continued  their  business ; 
for  at  that  time  a  greater  portion  of  the 
property  between  Spring  Street  and  the 
old  State  Prison  was  vacant  lots,  and  that 
portion  of  the  city  was  entirely  free  from 
the.  fever,  being  nearly  two  miles  distant 
from  the  infected  district.  A  fence  had 
also  been  erected  across  the  city  from  the 
North  to  the  East  River,  somewhere  above 
Canal  Street,  and  it  was  considered  dan- 
gerous to  go  below  those  limits.  I  pro- 
cured room  for  a  desk  in  Mr.  Charles 
Dennison's  shanty,  which  he  had  erected 
for  the  purpose  of  his  grocery  business, 
and  several  merchants  procured  board  and 
lodging  with  a  Mr.  John  Montaigne,  who 
kept  a  small  house  in  Greenwich  Street. 
I  boarded  with  him,  but  slept  nightly  on 
board  one  of  the  Newburg  or  New  Wind- 
sor packets  (which  lay  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood),  for  I  was  intimately  ac- 


78  AUTOBIOGEAPHT    OF 

quainted  with  all  the  captains.  On  every 
Saturday  I  left  the  city  to  visit  my  family, 
and  returned  on  Monday  morning.  If  my 
memory  serves  me,  I  think  they  were  ab- 
sent about  two  months,  and  glad  indeed 
was  I  to  have  them  once  more  around  me. 
Soon  after  this  I  removed  with  my  fami- 
ly to  Cortlandt  Street,  paying  a  rental  of 
$700  a  year  for  the  house  I  occupied.  I  had 
a  lease  of  this  house  for  six  years.  At  the 
expiration  of  this  lease  I  removed  to  the 
house  of  Philip  Hone,  Esq.,  a  few  doors 
"below,  at  a  rental  of  $1,000  a  year.  This 
house  was  built  by  Mr.  Hone  for  his  own 
residence,  where  he  resided  for  a  number 
of  years.  I  had  a  lease  of  this  house  for 
five  years.  I  remained  in  it  but  foui 
years,  having  bought  a  house  on  Washing 
ton  Square,  but  I  had  no  difficulty  in 
covering  the  last  year  of  my  lease  at  the 
same  rental.  So  on  the  1st  of  May,  1837, 
I  removed  to  my  new  house  on  Washington 
Square,  where  I  resided  twenty-nine  years 


N.    T.    HUBBARD. 


—  twenty-five  years  in  great  prosperity, 
after  which  my  fortunes  began  to  wane. 

As  I  have  already  related  in  other  por 
tions  of  these  sketches  many  pleasing  inci- 
dents of  my  life,  I  am  not  now  inclined  to 
dwell  on  the  sad  and  shady  side  of  my  later 
days  ;  but  I  must  here  remark,  that  I  have 
believed  for  many  years  that  great  wealth 
does  not  constitute  great  happiness.  There 
are  many  other  qualities  in  man's  nature 
that  contribute  more  pleasure  and  happi- 
ness than  mere  riches,  however  much  their 
possessor  may  prize  them.  I  have  been  in 
affluence  ;  but  the  natural  cheerfulness  of 
my  nature,  with  my  usually  good  health, 
renders  my  declining  years  peaceful  and 
quiet,  with  very  moderate  means. 

I  am  now  living  with  my  daughter  at 
the  Washington  Hotel,  No.  1  Broadway. 
We  have  very  comfortable  quarters  on  the 
first  floor,  overlooking  the  Battery.  We 
have  our  private  table  served  to  us  in  my 
parlor.  The  table  is  excellent  in  every  re- 


80  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

spect,  but  as  for  myself  I  have  been  in  the 
habit  for  the  past  thirty  years  of  taking 
but  two  meals  a  day— my  breakfast  at 
eight  to  half-past  eight  and  my  dinner  at 
six  o'clock ;  and  I  consider  that  this  mode 
of  living,  with  my  well-known  temperance 
habits,  has  been  largely  conducive  to  my 
present  length  of  years. 

This  day,  April  6,  1874,  I  am  eighty 
eight  years,  ten  months  and  nine  days  old, 
and  in  excellent  health.  I  spend  from  two 
to  two  and  a  half  hours  each  day  on  our 
Produce  Exchange,  of  which  I  am  an  hon- 
orary member.  My  present  business  is  very 
limited,  but  I  have  a  few  old  customers 
who  invariably  come  or  send  to  me  to  sup- 
ply their  vessels  with  beef  and  pork  for 
stores.  I  have  been  in  active  business  so 
long  (sixty-five  years)  that  I  should  be 
very  unhappy  if  I  could  not  get  on  'Change 
daily,  and  meet  my  old  friends  and  ac- 
quaintances. I  have  been  so  long  a  time 
in  harness  that  I  love  it,  and  it  fits  me  so 


N.    T.    IIUBBAKD.  81 

well  I  am  determined  to  live  and  die  in  it. 
I  have  always  taken  great  pleasure  in  do- 
ing business,  and  allow  me  here  to  remark, 
for  it  is  well  known  that  many  merchants, 
when  the  day  is  over,  carry  to  their  homes 
the  cares  and  anxieties  relating  to  their 
business;  and  these  cares  so  often  afflict 
and  distress  them,  that  they  do  not  enjoy 
the  pleasant  associations  and  intercourse 
with  their  families  with  which  they  are 
pleasantly  surrounded,  but  it  has  not  been 
so  with  me.  When  the  day  was  over  I  re- 
turned home  free  from,  these  anxieties,  and 
enjoyed  myself  in  the  companionship  of 
my  family. 

There  is  one  suggestion  which  I  wish  to 
impress  upon  the  rising  young  merchants 
of  this  city.  I  have  observed  in  many  in- 
stances merchants  retiring  from  business 
in  middle  life,  after  procuring  a  sufficiency 
to  satisfy  them,  and  I  have  noticed  that 
after  a  year  or  t\vo  they  usually  become 
discontented  and  unhappy,  anxiously  wish- 


82  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

ing  themselves  back  again  to  their  old 
haunts  of  business.  Many  of  them  die 
within  six  or  eight  years  after  their  retire- 
ment, while  some,  after  seeking  happiness 
for  two  or  three  years  (which  they  cannot 
find),  again  return  to  their  old  occupations, 
either  as  active  or  special  partners.  My 
recommendation  to  young  merchants,  when 
once  established  in  a  good  and  thriving 
business,  is  to  hold  to  it  as  long  as  their 
health  and  mental  capacity  qualify  them 
for  it;  and  I  am  bold  to  say  that  this  course 
will  not  only  add  to  their  length  of  days, 
but  to  their  happiness  through  life. 

Many  years  ago,  while  doing  a  prosper 
ous  business,  I  was  asked  by  several  of  my 
acquaintances  why  I  did  not  retire.  My 
reply  was  :  "  If  I  knew  for  a  certainty  that 
by  continuing  in  business  I  should  actually 
lose  $5,000  a  year  during  my  life,  I  should 
continue  as  long  as  I  had  the  $5,000  a 
year  to  lose,  for  nothing  would  render  me 
more  unhappy  than  to  have  nothing  to 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  8 

employ  my  mind."  It  must  not  be  sup- 
posed, however,  that  during  my  long  busi- 
ness life  I  had  no  relaxation  from  busi- 
ness. For  thirty  years  of  my  life  my 
family  and  myself  were  in  the  habit  of 
visiting  the  Springs  and  other  watering- 
places.  Among  our  favorite  resorts  were 
Saratoga,  West  Point,  and  Newport. 
These  were  the  three  principal  watering 
resorts  thirty  years  ago.  For  twenty-five 
years  in  succession  I  visited  Saratoga 
Springs  (with  one  exception).  My  family 
usually  remained  at  one  of  these  places 
during  most  of  the  summer.  The  United 
States  Hotel  at  Saratoga  was  my  favorite 
resort.  We  generally  ended  the  summer 
at  Cozzens'  Hotel,  West  Point.  It  was  my 
custom  to  return  home  once  a  week  while 
my  family  remained  at  either  of  the  afore- 
said places,  returning  to  them  in  the  course 
of  two  or  three  days.  These  excursions  I 
enjoyed  very  much,  and  when  we  all 
finally  returned  home  from  our  summer 


84  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

pleasures  and  amusements,  it  gave  a  new 
zest  and  pleasure  to  our  own  home  com- 
forts and  enjoyments. 

TRIP   TO    PATERSOJS". 

On  the  4th  of  July,  183?,  Mr.  Charles 
Denison,  Henry  Wykoff,  Benjamin  Stagg 
and  myself  (by  invitation  of  Mr.  Denison) 
visited  Paterson  to  pass  the  day  in  social 
enjoyment.  After  visiting  the  different 
factories  and  partaking  of  a  substantial 
meal,  we  returned.  On  our  way  to  the 
city  we  heard  there  had  been  several  cases 
of  cholera  reported.  We  hesitated  to  rely 
upon  these  reports,  but  it  was  soon  an 
established  fact.  I  have  alluded  in  these 
pages  to  the  dreadful  havoc  existing  during 
the  prevalence  of  this  fearful  scourge. 

The  three  gentlemen  above-named  were 
associated  so  intimately  with  me,  that, 
when  I  recur  back  and  think  of  the  pleasant 
reminiscences  connected  in  our  intercourse 
with  each  other,  I  can  remember  nothing 


N.    T.    HUBBAKD.  85 

but  pleasure.  But  still  in  looking  back 
and  knowing,  as  I  well  do,  that  I  am  almost 
alone  on  the  scene,  melancholy  reflections 
will  arise.  In  paying  this  small  tribute  to 
my  departed  friends  a  few  lines  have  oc- 
curred to  me,  which  I  quote : 

Eternal  Hope,  when  yonder  spheres  sublime 
Pealed  their  first  notes  to  sound  the  march  of  time, 
Thy  joyous  youth  began,  but  not  to  fade. 
When  all  the  sister-planets  have  decayed, 
When,  wrapped  in  flames,- the  realms  of  ether  glow 
And  heaven's  last  thunder  shakes  the  world  below, 
Thou  undismayed  shalt  o'er  the  ruins  smile, 
And  light  thy  torch  at  Nature's  funeral  pile. 

This  quotation  is  from  Campbell's  Plea- 
sures of  Hope,  and  is  completely  entwined 
around  my  very  being.  I  repeat  these 
lines  with  many  favorite  ones  almost  night- 
ly on  my  retiring  to  bed.  They  calm  the 
tumults  that  often  oppress  me. 


86  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 


CHAPTER  XL 

MILITARY. 

I  PURPOSE  now  to  make  a  few  remarks 
upon  a  few  of  my  old  military  friends.  I 
was  intimately  acquainted  with  Major-Gen- 
eral  Scott  for  many  years.  He  became 
very  distinguished  with  his  countrymen,  and 
very  justly  so.  I  distinctly  recollect  when 
he  first  came  to  this  city,  and  was  stationed 
at  the  old  Fort  now  called  Castle  Garden 
on  the  Battery.  It  was  at  West  Point 
where  I  became  more  intimately  acquainted 
with  him,  for  I  had  been  in  the  habit,  for 
many  years,  of  spending  several  weeks 
there  with  my  family  during  the  summer, 
and  the  General,  during  that -season,  always 
made  this  place  his  headquarters.  I  al- 
ways found  him  a  very  agreeable  com- 


N.    T.    HUBBAED.  87 

panion.  He  was  extravagantly  fond  of 
playing  whist,  and  would  frequently  send 
for  me  to  make  up  the  match  when  one  or 
two  were  wanted  to  complete  it.  I  was, 
comparatively  speaking,  a  poor  player  in 
comparison  with  many  others  then,  who 
were  highly  skilful  in  the  game  in  which 
the  General  stood  prominent.  He  always 
preferred  playing  dummy,  and  would  al- 
ways give  two  points  to  his  opponents 
when  so  playing.  I  shall  never  forget  the 
observation  he  once  made  while  he  and  my- 
self were  partners  in  a  game  in  which  we 
were  beaten.  Nothing  vexed  him  more 
than  to  be  beaten  at  cards  or  chess.  His 
remark  was,  that'"  Mr.  Hubbard  is  the  poor- 
est player  I  ever  met  with."  I  was  by  no 
means  a  good  player,  as  I  did  not  take 
sufficient  interest  in  it  to  keep  my  mind 
accurately  informed  of  the  cards  previously 
played,  hence  I  was  frequently  at  fault  in 
my  play.  The  General  was  also  a  skilful 
chess-player,  of  which  game  I  was  totally 


88  AUTOBIOGKAPHY    OF 

ignorant.  We  occasionally  played  billiards 
together,  and  although  I  was  not  a  skilful 
player,  I  could  beat  the  General  very  easily, 
but  he  never  took  much  interest  in  bil- 
liards: chess  and  whist  were  his  favorite 
amusements.  The  General  was  a  universal 
favorite  with  all  who  knew  him ;  he  was 
very  companionable  and  easy  in  his  man- 
ners and  address,  and  the  cadets  almost 
worshipped  him.  He  was  well  deserving 
the  grateful  homage  of  Ms  countrymen ;  he 
has  passed  away — peace  to  his  ashes. 

When  I  was  a  young  man,  twenty-five 
or  thirty  years  of  age,  I  was  well  ac- 
quainted with  General  Stevens  ;  he  was  an 
old  Knickerbocker,  sixty  or  seventy  years 
ago.  His  residence  was  in  Beekman  Street, 
and  his  store  in  South  Street,  between 
Beekman  and  Peck  Slip.  He  had  a  large 
family  of  sons,  but  no  daughters.  One  of 
his  sons  was  president  of  the  Bank  of  Com- 
merce for  many  years,  which  he  conducted 
with  ability  and  success,  and  from  which 


N.    T.    HUBBAKD.  89 

lie  retired,  a  few  years  since,  from  the  in- 
firmities of  old  age.  Another  of  General 
Stevens'  sons  was  a  celebrated  surgeon  and 
physician.  General  Stevens  was  a  large 
importer  of  French  brandies  and  other 
merchandise.  He  has  been  dead  for  many 
years. 

General  Morton  was  Commander-in-Chief 
for  many  years  of  the  military  of  this  city, 
and  also  for  many  years  secretary  of  the 
Board  of  Aldermen  through  all  its  poli- 
tical changes.  He  was  always  nominated 
by  every  new  board  without  regard  to 
politics.  In  fact,  he  had  become  so  fami- 
liar with  the  duties  of  the  office,  that  each 
new  board  applied  to  him  for  information 
on  various  matters  which  they  knew  he 
perfectly  understood.  The  General  was 
highly  respected  by  all  classes  of  his  fel- 
low-citizens. 

General  Hopkins,  of  the  old  firm  of 
Hopkins  &  Hawley,  was  a  fellow-soldier 
with  me  in  the  regiment  and  company  I 


90  AITTOBIOGEAPHT    OF 

joined  in  1809.  Our  company  was  com- 
posed of  the  best  class  of  young  men  in  the 
city,  and  we  took  rank  as  and  were  pro- 
nounced, the  best  drilled  company  in  the 
regiment.  Our  drill-room  was  at  Wil- 
liams' Hotel  in  the  Bowery,  a  short  dis- 
tance above  Chatham  Street.  One  even- 
ing we  had  an  election  for  sergeant.  I  was 
nominated  for  the  office,  which  I  very 
promptly  declined,  and  I  forthwith  nomi- 
nated Mr.  Hopkins,  and  he  was  elected. 
Mr.  Hopkins  was  a  younger  member  than 
I  by  a  few  months  only,  and  at  the  end  of 
my  seven  years  service  Mr.  Hopkins  was 
Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  Regiment,  and 
was  afterwards  appointed  General  of  the 
Division.  Our  company  usually  gave  one 
ball  during  the  winter,  and  I  was  invaria- 
bly appointed  one  of  the  managers  as  well 
as  one  of  the  supper-committee.  These 
entertainments  were  very  pleasant  and 
agreeable,  and  many  lasting  friendships 
grew  out  of  these  -  yearly  reunions.  Gen- 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  91 

eral  Hopkins  died  several  years  ago,  both 
honored  and  respected  by  all  who  knew 
him. 

General  Hall,  who  died  the  latter  part 
of  May  last,  I  had  been  very  intimately 
acquainted  with  during  the  past  fifty  years. 
He  formerly  kept  his  music  store  opposite 
Franklin  Square,  at  the  intersection  of 
Pearl  and  Cherry  Streets  ;  from  thence  he 
removed  to  Broadway  many  years  ago.  I 
first  became  more  particularly  acquainted 
with  him  during  the  existence  of  the  old 
Sacred  Musical  Society  of  this  city,  in 
which  he  took  a  great  and  lively  interest. 
It  was  the  General  who  was  the  cause  of 
my  election  to  the  presidency  of  that  so- 
ciety, without  my  knowledge  or  consent.  I 
have  before  alluded  to  this  fact.  The 
General  took  great  pride  in  his  military 
duties.  He  was  a  mild,  quiet,  and  amiable 
gentleman.  I  frequently  patronized  his 
music  store  during  my  musical  mania, 
which  absorbed  most  of  my  leisure  hours 


92  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

for  many  years.  But  my  age  as  well  as 
my  sight  and  hearing  prevent  me  from 
participating  any  longer  in  the  pleasure  of 
the  Opera,  and  hence  I  must  content  my- 
self with  the  retrospect  of  the  pleasures  I 
once  enjoyed,  and  live  them  over  again  in 
imagination.  And  here  I  honestly  admit  I 
derive  much  pleasure  from  this  indulgence. 


N.    T.    HUBBAKD  03 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  OPERA    AND    MUSICAL    CELEBRITIES    OF 
THE    PAST. 

IT  is  said  every  man  lias  Ms  hobby.  I 
was  always  passionately  fond  of  music. 
Thirty  years  ago  I  was  a  member  of  every 
musical  society  in  this  city.  I  was  elected 
one  year,  without  my  knowledge  or  con- 
sent, president  of  the  Sacred  Musical  So- 
ciety. I  was  absent  from  the  meeting  at 
the  time  of  the  election,  never  having 
aspired  to  any  official  office,  social  or  poli- 
tical. I  tendered,  at  the  next  meeting,  my 
resignation,  which  they  declined  to  accept, 
therefore  I  served  the  society  for  one  year 
to  the  best  of  my  ability.  Philip  Hone 
and  Dr.  Rockwell  were  previous  presi- 


94  AUTOBIOGRAPHY   OF 

dents.     This  society  numbered  about  three 
hundred  active  members. 

During  the  year  I  was  president  we 
gave  four  concerts.  At  one  of  these  we 
had  engaged  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wood  (of  Eng- 
lish fame),  and  also  Mr.  Montressor,  of  the 
Italian  Opera,  a  splendid  tenor.  The 
house  was  packed  from  dome  to  pit.  Mr. 
Wood  was  the  first  to  appear.  He  sang  a 
favorite  song,  and  was  much  applauded. 
The  next  on  the  programme  was  the  Italian 
tenor.  He  sang  his  solo  magnificently,  and 
at  the  close  the  whole  house  thundered 
forth  their  applause  in  repeated  shouts  of 
praise.  Mrs.  Wood  was  next  on  the  pro- 
gramme, and  the  time  of  her  appearance 
having  been  delayed  (from  some  cause  un- 
known to  the  audience,  or  even  to  myself 
who  presided),  I  was  sent  for  to  come  to  her 
room  under  the  stage,  the  messenger  tell- 
ing me  she  was  in  great  distress.  I  hurried 
down  and  found  her  in  tears,  and  ap- 
parently suffering.  I  asked,  "Are  you 


N.    T.    HUBBAED.  95 

ill?  If  so  I  will  call  in  a  physician,  for 
there  are  a  half,  dozen  or  more  in  the 
house."  She  said,  "No,  no;  I  will  be  bet- 
ter soon."  I  then  entreated  her  to  tell  me 
the  cause  of  her  apparent  suffering,  and  she 
finally  told  me  the  cause  of  her  distress. 
It  was  that  the  Italian  tenor  had  received  all 
the  applause,  and  her  husband  but  very  lit- 
tle. I  laughed  and  soon  talked  her  into  good 
humor ;  the  audience,  in  the  meantime  were 
clamorous  and  noisy,  having  waited  at  least 
fifteen  minutes  for  her  appearance.  I  at 
length  led  her  up  to  the  platform,  and  she 
was  received  with  shouts  of  applause. 

Mrs.  Wood  had  at  this  time  no  equal  or 
rival  on  the  English  or  American  stage. 
On  this  occasion  she  sang  with  more  energy 
and  spirit  than  I  had  ever  heard  her.  She 
absolutely  appeared  inspired,  and  com- 
municated that  inspiration  to  the  audience. 
I  never  witnessed  a  greater  outburst  of  ap- 
plause. Cheer  followed  cheer,  the  audi- 
ence rising,  and  it  was  "encore,  encore," 


96  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

from  two  thousand  voices.  At  length 
order  was  restored,  and  she  again  repeated 
her  song  with  marvellous  effect.  The 
audience  would  not  then  be  satisfied,  but 
kept  up  the  applause  till  she  came  again 
to  the  front  and  gave  them  a  new  song  be- 
fore the  audience  would  release  her.  Dur- 
ing the  remainder  of  the  evening  I  never  saw 
a  being  more  perfectly  happy  and  joyful. 

It  was  on  the  advent  of  Malibran  and 
Sontag  that  the  popularity  of  Mrs.  Wood 
began  to  wane.  It  was  related  to  me  by 
Mr.  Charles  E.  Horn  (an  English  tenor 
and  pianist,  who  resided  in  this  city  many 
years,  and  sung  in  English  Opera  at  the  old 
Park  Theatre  for  several  years),  that  on 
Malibran's  first  appearance  on  the  English 
stage  he  had  taken  an  early  seat  in  the  pit 
of  Covent  Garden  Theatre.  A  role  in  the 
opera  had  been  assigned  her,  against  which 
she  vehemently  protested  with  the  mana- 
ger, but  in  vain.  "  You,"  she  said,  "  are 
master  to-night,  but  in  the  future  I  shall 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  97 

be  your  master  and  choose  my  own  roles." 
The  fact  was,  Mrs.  Wood  took  the  first 
role  and  Malibran  was  assigned  the  second. 
"The  house,"  said  Horn,  "was  packed 
from  dome  to  pit.  On  singing  her  aria 
she  absolutely  electrified  the  audience,  and 
they  all  arose  with  shouts  of  delight.  She 
repeated  her  aria,  but  at  its  close  the 
storm  of  applause  was  as  great  as  ever. 
She  came  forward  and  sang  an  aria  from 
another  opera,  with  the  same  results.  She 
then  ordered  a  piano  that  stood  at  the 
back  of  the  stage,  and  sang  an  English 
song  to  her  own  accompaniment.  She 
then  retired  behind  the  scenes,  and  was 
careful  in  doing  so  to  pass  the  manager, 
who  had  been  listening  to  her  throughout 
this  wonderful  scene.  As  she  passed  him, 
he  lifted  his  hat  and  said,  '  You  have  con- 
quered and  you  are  my  master  now.'  Dur- 
ing this  wonderful  performance  of  Mali- 
bran  Mrs.  Wood  was  in  her  dressing-room, 
crying  like  a  child." 


98  AUTOBIOGEAPHY    OF 

When  the  Garcia  company  first  arrived 
.in  this  country  they  came  under  the  en- 
gagement and  auspices  of  Dominick  Lynch, 
"Esq.,  who,  while  visiting  Europe,  came  in 
contact  with  this  troupe.  Mr.  Lynch  was 
considered  one  of  our  most  fashionable  citi- 
zens. He  engaged  the  company,  consisting 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Garcia,  son  and  daughter, 
for  the  Park  Theatre,  then  under  the  man- 
agement of  Mr.  Simpson.  Their  first  ap- 
pearance was  in  the  opera  of  the  "  Barber 
of  Seville."  They  came  here  unheralded 
by  fame,  but  with  the  influence  of  Mr. 
Lynch  all  the  lower  tier  of  boxes  were 
taken  by  our  then  fashionable  and  aristo- 
cratic citizens.  The  opera  was  a  great  suc- 
cess. The  daughter  was  quite  young,  be- 
ing but  seventeen  years  of  age.  The  Bar- 
ber was  sung  three  times  with  increased 
enthusiasm,  after  which  several  other 
operas  were  placed  upon  the  stage.  They 
continued  to  increase  in  popularity.  Old 
Garcia  was  a  splendid  tenor,  but  he  was  a 


N.    T.    IIUBBARD.  99 

great  tyrant,  and  compelled  his  daughter 
to  study  eight  hours  each  day.  It  was 
during  her  engagement  here  that  a  Mr. 
Malibran  fell  desperately  in  love  with  her, 
and  offered  her  father  $20,000  if  he  would 
consent  to  allow  his  daughter  to  become 
his  wife.  Mr.  Malibran  was  a  merchant  in 
South  Street.  The  bargain  was  finally 
consummated ;  she,  it  was  said,  to  release 
herself  from  the  tyranny  of  her  father,  for 
Malibran  was  old  enough  to  be  her  father. 
Within  sixty  days  after  their  marriage 
Malibran  failed  in  business,  and  she  soon 
after  cut  loose  from  him ;  and  on  her  own 
responsibility  made  an  engagement  with 
the  manager  of  the  Bowery  Theatre  to  sing 
there.  I  attended  all  her  performances  in 
this  city. 

Shortly  after  the  close  of  her  engage- 
ment at  the  Bowery  Theatre  she  left  for 
Europe,  under  the  protection  of  Peter  Har- 
mony, Esq.,  and  Malibran  soon  after  fol- 
lowed her  to  France,  but  she  would  have 


100  AUTOBIOGKAPHY    OF 

nothing  to  do  or  say  to  him.  She  soon  ob- 
tained a  divorce  from  him,  and  shortly 
after  married  De  Beriot,  at  this  time  one 
of  the  most  celebrated  violinists  in  France. 
She  soon  after  made  an  engagement  to  sing 
at  the  Italian  Opera  in  Paris,  where  she 
won  fresh  laurels.  Her  fame  soon  reached 
St.  Petersburg,  and  an  agent  was  dis- 
patched from  that  capital  to  Paris  to  se- 
cure an  engagement  from  her  to  sing  in 
that  city.  She  accepted  the  very  liberal 
offers  made  her,  and  soon  she  and  her  hus- 
band started  by  stage-coach  for  their  desti- 
nation. There  were  no  railroads  then.  In 
many  parts  of  the  country  through  which 
they  passed  her  fame  had  preceded  her, 
and  had  reached  many  of  the  inhabitants 
along  the  route  they  were  travelling ;  and 
at  one  hotel  where  it  was  known  the 
stage  would  stop  for  change  of  horses 
and  refreshments,  the  country  people  for 
some  twenty  miles  around  assembled,  de- 
termined to  hear  her  sing.  When  they 


1ST.    T.    HUBBARD.  101 

arrived  at  the  hotel  they  found  it  sur- 
rounded by  a  small  army  of  people,  and 
when  it  was  made  known  to  her  that  the 
gathering  had  assembled  to  hear  her  sing, 
she  kindly  said  to  the  landlord  to  an- 
nounce to  the  people  assembled  that  as 
soon  as  she  rested  from  the  fatigue  of  her 
journey,  she  would  willingly  comply  with 
their  request.  In  a  short  time  De  Beriot, 
with  his  wife  and  his  violin,  advanced  to 
the  verandah  that  surrounded  the  hotel,  and 
she  sang  three  or  four  songs,  which  per- 
fectly astonished  them  with  wonder  and 
delight.  Her  hearers  then  made  up  a 
purse  of  gold  of  Si 00,  and  deputed  one  of 
their  number  to  present  it  to  her ;  but  she 
politely  refused  it,  saying  she  had  been 
as  much  pleased  and  delighted  in  convey- 
ing pleasure  to  them  as  they  had  been  in 
listening  to  her  songs. 

Shortly  after  they  resumed  their  jour- 
ney, arriving  at  length  at  St.  Petersburg. 
Soon  after  their  arrival  they  were  called 


102  ATJTOBIOGKAPHY    OF 

upon  by  the  Chamberlain  of  the  Emperor, 
who  communicated  to  them  the  usages  and 
the  etiquette  of  the  court  in  relation  to  the 
Opera.  In  the  first  place  she  was  directed 
to  write  a  polite  note  to  the  Emperor  and 
his  family,  requesting  them  to  graciously 
attend  the  opera  on  her  first  performance. 
She  was  also  further  told  that  the  custom 
was  that  no  prinia  donna  was  permitted  to 
be  applauded  in  the  presence  of  the  royal 
family  until  she  was  first  heard  to  sing. 
This  last  prohibition  she  at  once  protested 
against,  and  she  directed  a  note  to  the 
Emperor  and  his  family  not  to  attend  her 
first  performance  at  the  opera,  in  conse- 
quence of  her  not  being  permitted  to  be  ap- 
plauded on  her  first  entrance  on  the  stage, 
for  with  that  prohibition  she  could  not 
sing  at  all.  The  Emperor  read  her  note, 
and  was  so  much  pleased  with  it  that  he 
forthwith  directed  his  Chamberlain  to  call 
on  Malibran  and  inform  her  that  he  and 
his  family  would  honor  the  opera  on  her 


N.    T.    HUBBAED.  103 

first  appearance,  and  would  see  to  it  that 
she  got  the  applause  she  required  on  her 
first  entrance  upon  the  stage.  It  was  a 
perfect  triumph;  her  fame  resounded 
throughout  the  empire,  and  agents  came 
from  every  quarter  to  secure  her  at  the 
close  of  her  engagement  at  St.  Petersburg. 
She  received  from  the  royal  family  many 
valuable  presents,  and  from  the  nobility 
gifts  without  number.  She  was  the  idol 
of  their  idolatry,  and  had  free  access  to 
the  palace.  Her  whole  soul  was  full,  for 
she  lived  and  breathed  in  the  applause  of 
the  world.  She  had  no  rivals,,  and  was 
happy. 

She  died  young  in  London,  where  she 
had  gone  to  attend  a  celebrated  musical 
festival  many  years  ago.  The  writer  has 
heard  all  the  celebrated  musical  celebrities 
that  have  visited  this  city  from  Europe, 
but  he  has  never  heard  but  one  Malibran. 
Peace  to  her  ashes.  My  next  great  fa- 
vorite was  Alboni,  the  most  splendid  con- 


104  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

tralto  of -this  or  any  former  age,  as  far  as 
we  have  any  account.  She  came  to  New 
York  about  the  same  time  that  the  cele- 
brated Sontag  arrived  here,  who  was  in- 
deed a  splendid  actress  as  well  as  singer ; 
but  she  had  seen  her  best  days,  while  Al- 
boni  was  in  the  zenith  of  her  wonderful 
powers.  I  have  not  language  to  describe 
her.  She  sang  without  any  apparent  ef- 
fort, and  a  flood  of  surpassing  melody 
flowed  forth  like  the  joyous  singing  of  the 
nightingale.  I  was  early  introduced  to  her, 
and  we  became  very  intimate  friends.  Her 
husband,  who  was  a  Count,  was  a  very 
pleasant  and  agreeable  person.  They  had 
rooms  at  the  New  York  Hotel,  and  as  my 
family  resided  on  Washington  Square  I 
called  at  their  rooms  quite  frequently,  and 
she  would  always  sit  at  the  piano  and  sing 
for  me  when  I  requested  the  favor  of  her. 
She  and  her  husband  visited  Saratoga 
Springs  during  the  summer,  and  several 
members  of  my  own  family  spent  several 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  105 

weeks  there.  During  their  stay  at  Saratoga 
she  gave  several  concerts,  to  the  delight  and 
gratification  of  its  numerous  visitors.  After 
their  return  to  this  city  she  gave  three  or 
four  concerts  at  Tripler  Hall  in  Broadway. 
[  never  missed  hearing  her  sing  while  in 
this  city.  At  her  last  concert,  previous  to 
her  leaving  for  her  home  in  Paris,  I  called 
on  her,  during  the  interval  of  the  concert, 
to  say  good-bye.  She  gave  me  a  most,  press- 
ing invitation  to  visit  her  at  her  home  in 
Paris,  if  I  ever  came  there.  She  still  re- 
mains (I  am  told)  at  the  head  of  her  pro- 
fession. Several  of  our  Americans  who 
had  seen  her  in  Paris  told  me  she  invari- 
ably inquired  of  them  if  I  was  still  living 
and  well. 

A  number  of  years  previous  to  Alboni's 
visit  to  this  country  another  celebrated 
singer  arrived  here — Caradori  Allan — -well 

O 

known  and  highly  respected  by  our  old 
Knickerbockers.  She  gave  her  concerts  at 

the  old  City  Hotel.     I  was   shortly  after 
5* 


106  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

introduced  to  her  and  to  her  husband ;  they 
then  boarded  in  Murray  Street.  I  became 
very  much  attached  to  her,  for  she  was  not 
only  a  perfect  lady  but  a  most  superb 
vocalist,  and  I  never  missed  one  of  her 
concerts.  During  her  stay  here  she  was 
prevailed  upon  by  her  husband  to  accept 
a  short  engagement  to  sing  at  the  Park 
Theatre.  Her  husband  was  a  Scotchman  by 
birth,  and  very  much  of  a  gentleman,  and 
very  fond  of  money,  it  was  said.  She  was 
no  actress,  but  made  up  for  that  defect  in 
the  beauty  and  splendor  of  her  voice.  I  en- 
gaged five  seats  in  the  boxes  for  her  whole 
engageemnt,  which  proved  a  great  success, 
both  to  her  and  the  manager,  Mr.  Simpson. 
I  gave  a  musical  entertainment  at  my  house 
on  Washington  Square  in  her  honor.  Dur- 
ing the  evening  she  sang  three  or  four  of 
her  English  songs,  A  few  days  after  they 
left  for  their  home  in  England,  and  the 
day  previous  to  their  departure  they  called 
at  my  house  and  left  their  farewell  cards. 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  107 

These  musical  recollections  have  afforded 
me  much  pleasure  in  the  retrospect,  for 
there  has  scarcely  been  a  day,  during  the 
past  sixty  years,  that  I  have  not  thought 
and  reflected  on  the  pleasure  they  gave 
me.  In  regard  to  my  own  family  I  had 
but  one  real  musical  child.  I  discovered 
at  an  early  age,  while  she  was  taking  les- 
sons of  Mr.  Charles  E.  Horn  on  the  piano, 
that  she  had  a  very  sweet  musical  voice. 
One  afternoon  on  entering  my  house,  on 
my  return  from  my  office,  I  heard  from  my 
parlor  a  voice  singing  a  simple  melody  that 
I  had  never  heard  before.  I  was  enchanted 
with  the  voice,  and  remained  listening  in 
the  hall  until  it  ceased.  I  then  rushed 
into  the  parlor,  placed  my  arms  about  my 
daughter's  neck  and  kissed  her,  expressing 
the  great  pleasure  and  delight  at  her  beau- 
tiful voice,  for  I  had  never  before  heard 
her  sing.  She  was  then  twelve  years  old, 
and,  as  before  stated,  she  was  taking  piano 
lessons  of  Mr.  Horn,  who  was  a  most  ac- 


108  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

coinplished  singer,  and  he  had  that  day 
given  her  a  simple  little  ballad,  having  dis- 
covered, she  had  a  very  beautiful  voice.  It 
was  after  her  teacher  had  gone  that  she 
was  rehearsing  the  lesson  he  had  given  her. 
The  next  time  I  saw  Mr.  Horn  he'  compli- 
mented me  on  the  beautiful  voice  of  his 
pupil.  From  that  time  forward,  until  her 
nineteenth  year,  I  employed  the  best  musi- 
cal talent  to  instruct  her,  that  could  be 
obtained  in  this  city. 

Rapetti,  the  celebrated  violinist  and  con- 
ductor of  the  Italian  Opera  in  this  city, 
gave  her  two  or  three  lessons  a  week  for 
three  years,  until  he  met  me  one  day  and 
said,  "  I  have  instructed  your  daughter 
until  I  am  unable  to  teach  her  any  more 
than  she  knows  herself,  and  I  honestly 
tell  you  that  it  is  only  throwing  away  the 
money  you  pay  me  to  continue  me  any 
longer  in  your  employ."  She  had  acquired 
under  his  teaching  a  very  perfect  knowl- 
edge of  the  Italian  language,  which  she 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  109 

preferred  in  singing  to  the  English.  Her 
voice  was  a  mezzo-soprano  of  superior 
quality,  and  one  of  the  most  sympathetic 
I  ever  heard.  They  called  her  a  Mali- 
bran. 

For  two  winters  I  gave  musical  enter- 
tainments at  rny  house  on  Washington 
Square,  once  every  fortnight,  to  which 
cards  were  sent  out  for  the  course  to  my 
musical  friends,  and  I  undertake  to  say 
they  were  the  most  celebrated  ever  given 
in  this  city  twenty-seven  or  twenty-eight 
years  ago.  All  the  best  musical  talent  at- 
tended. Solos,  duets,  trios,  quartets,  and 
choruses  were  performed  with  great  per- 
fection ;  in  addition,  two  glee  clubs  were 
usually  in  attendance.  I  instituted  these 
entertainments  for  the  more  particular  pur- 
pose of  "accustoming  my  daughter  to  sing 
before  large  and  appreciating  audiences. 

I  cannot  forbear  mentioning  an  incident 
that  occurred  one  evening  at  the  close  of 
one  of  these  entertainments.  A  deputation 


110  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OP 

of  six  musical  gentlemen  waited  upon  me 
and  said,  "It  is  a  great  pity  and  almost  a 
sin  that  the  lovers  of  music  generally  could 
not  hear  your  daughter  sing.  Now,  if  you 
and  your  daughter  will  consent  to  five  pub- 
lic concerts,  we  will  engage  to  pay  her 
$500  a  night  for  five  songs  or  duets  each 
night."  I  replied,  "I  had  not  educated  my 
daughter  for  the  stage,  and  further  I  was 
then  in  a  position  that  neither  of  us  were 
necessitated  to  accept  the  pecuniary  offer." 
She  sang  for  me  almost  every  evening 
when  at  home,  and  when  our  windows 
were  open  in  summer,  there  would  gather 
in  the  park  and  street  in  front  of  my  house 
hundreds  of  people  to  listen  and  enjoy  her 
magic  voice. 

In  the  month  of  June,  while  the  Astor 
Place  Opera-house  was  still  open,  Badialli, 
the  most  accomplished  baritone  that  was 
ever  in  this  country  (and  at  this  time  a 
member  of  the  Opera  troupe),  said  to  me, 
one  evening,  that  he  would  be  much  pleased 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  Ill 

to  hear  my  daughter  sing,  as  he  had  heard 
from  several  of  his  friends  that  she  pos- 
sessed a  very  fine  voice.  I  told  him  to 
name  any  afternoon  or  evening  to  call  at 
my  house,  and  she  would  sing  for  him  with 
pleasure,  for  she  had  been  more  than  de- 
lighted in  hearing  his  performances  at  the 
opera  for  the  past  three  or  four  months. 
He  made  the  appointment  to  call  the  next 
day,  and,  according  to  promise,  he  pre- 
sented himself  in  company  with  the  con- 
ductor of  the  opera.  They  had  never 
been  introduced  until  now,  but  knew 
each  other  perfectly  well,  as  they  saw 
each  other  nightly.  She  told  him  at 
once  that  she  would  sing  for  him  with 
great  pleasure.  She  regretted  that  her 
old  accompanist  on  the  piano  was  not  pre- 
sent, as  it  distracted  her  mind  somewhat  to 
accompany  herself.  She  then  took  her  seat 
at  the  piano  (I  will  here  remark  by-the-by 
that  she  never  sang  to  the  wall,  but  had  the 
instrument  so  placed  as  to  face  her  listen- 


112  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

ers).  She  now  asked  Badialli  from  what 
opera  she  should  sing,  as  she  was  well 
versed  in  most  of  the  modern  operas.  He 
had  no  choice,  she  must  choose  for  herself. 
She  then  commenced  an  aria  from  the  opera 
of  "  Romeo  and  Juliet."  She  had  not  sung 
a  dozen  notes  before  he  sprang  to  his  feet, 
his  eyes  rolling  like  fireballs,  he  crossed  the 
room  to  her  and  almost  embraced  her,  and 
then  paid  her  this  compliment:  "I  have 
heard  all  the  best  and  finest  voices  in  Eu- 
rope for  thirty-five  years,  but  never  heard 
one  to  excel  yours.  Were  you  my  daughter 
I  would  take  you  to  London  and  Paris,  and 
realize  out  of  your  voice  $100,000  every 
six  months."  He  appeared  wild  with  de- 
light, and  said,  "I  will  sing  for  you  all 
night."  In  the  course  of  further  conversa- 
tion he  remarked  to  my  daughter :  "  You 
know  we  played  the  opera  of  l  Ernani '  last 
night,  and  I  want  you  to  sing  with  me  the 
duet  in  the  first  act  which  I  sing  with  the 
prima  donna."  She  replied,  "  I  know  the 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  113 

music,  but  never  had  any  one  to  sing  it 
with."  He  replied,  "  You  can  sing  any- 
thing." They  commenced  the  duet  and 
sang  it  through  with  as  much  apparent 
ease  as  if  they  had  each  been  accustomed 
to  sing  it  together  for  years.  He  then  sang, 
as  if  with  a  spirit  inspired,  some  of  his 
gems  from  the  different  operas,  and  thus 
passed  a  most  delightful  and  pleasant  after- 
noon. In  less  than  three  months  from  the 
day  of  the  occurrence  I  have  just  narrated, 
I  conveyed  her  to  my  vault  in  Greemvood 
Cemetery. 

She  died  very  suddenly  at  Cozzen's 
Hotel,  West  Point,  on  the  31st  of  August, 
1851,  of  congestion  of  the  brain,  sur- 
rounded, in  her  last  hours,  by  other  mem- 
bers of  my  family  who  had  been  spend- 
ing the  summer  there.  Although  dead 
twenty-three  years  I  mourn  her  loss  to 
this  day,  for  she  contributed  so  much  to 
my  happiness,  during  her  short  life  of 
twenty-one  years. 


114  AUTOBIOGKAPHY    OF 

The  advent  of  Jenny  Lind,  many  years 
ago,  on  the  concert  stage  created  here  a 
very  great  sensation,  as  she  came  heralded 
by  a  great  European  reputation.  She  and 
her  company  had  been  engaged  by  Bar- 
num,  the  great  showman.  She  possessed  a 
magnificent  musical  organ,  soprano  in  qual- 
ity, with  which  she  delighted  her  audi- 
ences. I  attended  all  the  concerts  she  gave 
in  this  city.  It  was  truly  delightful  to 
hear  her  sing,  and  I  listened  to  her  as  to 
the  warbling  of  a  beautiful  bird,  but  she 
never  reached  my  heart  and  soul ;  to  me 
she  did  not  possess  that  magic  quality  of 
sympathy  that  diffuses  itself  throughout 
the  very  soul  and  body ;  in  short,  she  was 
not  a  Malibran.  I  had  many  disputes,  and 
almost  quarrels,  with  some  of  my  musical 
friends  on  this  very  subject,  but  at  length 
they  partly  yielded  to  my  opinions  and 
said  I  was  probably  right. 

Some  few  years  after  Jenny  Lind's  ap- 
pearance here,  the  world -renowned  artists, 


N.    T.    HUBBAKD.  115 

* 

Grisi  and  Mario  arrived.  Grisi  bad  been 
for  a  number  of  years  the  acknowledged 
star  of  the  lyric  stage,  and  Mario  had  no 
rival  as  a  tenor  in  the  European  capitals ; 
consequently  their  arrival  here  created 
great  pleasure  among  our  music-loving 
citizens.  Grisi  had  passed  her  most  bril- 
liant days,  and  was  rather  passe ;  but  she 
was  a  magnificent  artist,  both  in  singing 
and  acting;  you  lost  her  identity  in  the 
character  she  represented.  Mario  was  in 
the  noontide  of  his  musical  powers;  as 
an  actor  he  was  tame,  but  his  splendid 
voice  fully  overcame  his  deficiency  in  that 
respect.  They  had  a  splendid  success.  I 
attended  every  one  of  their  performances 
in  this  city. 

I  have  omitted  to  give  my  recollections 
of  the  second  Italian  opera  company  that 
arrived  in  this  city.  The  then  principal 
performers  were  Montressor,  tenor;  Toni- 
sario,  basso-baritone ;  and  Pedotte,  soprano. 
The  three  constituted  a  splendid  trio. 


116  AUTOBIOGEAPHY    OF 

* 

Rapetti,  the  celebrated  violinist,  was 
the  leader  of  the  orchestra.  They  opened 
at  the  Richmond  Hill  Theatre,  corner 
of  Charlton  and  Varick  Streets  (the 
ground  upon  which  this  theatre  stood 
was  formerly  the  country  seat  of  Aaron 
Burr).  They  performed  with  great  suc- 
cess to  full  houses  for  two  or  three  months, 
and  were  liberally  rewarded.  The  popu- 
larity of  this  company  was  the  cause  of 
the  erection  of  a  new  opera-house  on  the 
corner  of  Church  and  Leonard  Streets.  In 
the  meantime  an  agent  was  dispatched  to 
Europe  to  engage  an  Italian  company  for 
the  new  house. 

In  due  time  the  house  was  finished,  and 
the  new  Italian  company  arrived,  and  soon 
after  commenced  their  performances.  They 
all,  with  one  exception,  the  priina  donna 
soprano,  were  second-rate  performers,  and 
it  was  not  possible  for  one  fine  voice  alone 
to  sustain  the  company  for  any  length  of 
time,  and  it  was  finally  disbanded. 


N.    T.    HUBBAED.  117 

Some  time  later  we  had  an  English 
opera  company  arrive  here,  consisting  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Seguin,  Mr.  Wilson,  Miss 
Sheriff,  and  Miss  Poole,  which  formed  the 
best  English  troupe  that  had  ever  been  in 
this  country  before  or  since.  They  per- 
formed to  delighted  audiences  for  a  long 
time,  and  the  writer,  with  his  daughters, 
was  present  at  most  of  the  performances. 

Many  years  after  the  Astor  Place  Opera- 
house  was  erected  by  Mr.  Morgan,  by  sub- 
scription for  five  years,  each  subscriber 
paying  $300  a  year  in  advance,  which  en- 
titled him  to  three  seats  for  the  season. 
When  the  house  was  finished  the  seats 
were  distributed  by  lot  to  the  subscribers. 
When  my  name  was  drawn  I  chose  the 
second  sofa  in  the  stage-box,  which  con- 
tained four  seats,  which  added  one  more 
to  my  annual  subscription,  but  which  I  re- 
tained for  the  five  years.  During  those 
five  years  of  Italian  opera  the  managers 
had  varied  successes  and  drawbacks,  and 


118  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

frequently  the  five-year  subscribers  were 
called  upon  to  advance  means  to  pay  the 
salaries  of  the  performers,  when  the  treas- 
ury was  empty;  for  it  depended  on  the 
subscribers,  under  adverse  circumstances, 
whether  the  house  should  be  closed  and 
the  opera  suspended.  In  one  of  these  di- 
lemmas a  meeting  of  the  subscribers  was 
called,  and  it  was  voted  that  money  enough 
should  be  subscribed,  and  the  number  of 
operas  advertised  to  be  given  for  the  sea- 
son should  all  be  performed.  This  was 
done,  and,  if  ray  memory  serves  me  cor- 
rectly, I  think  I  paid  about  8250  extra, 
during  the  five  years,  to  keep  the  opera 
going.  • 

During  a  greater  portion  of  the  time  we 
had  a  splendid  collection  of  artists  and 
stars  of  the  first  magnitude,  that  from  time 
to  time  graced  the  stage.  We  had  Salvi, 
a  tenor,  one  of  the  finest  voices  I  ever 
heard,  besides  he  was  a  splendid  actor, 
and  his  voice  very  sympathetic;  we  had 


N.    T.    HUBBABD.  119 

Badialli  (of  whom  I  have  before  spoken), 
the  best  baritone  I  ever  heard ;  we  had 
also  Tedesco  and  Bosio  for  sopranos,  a  por- 
tion of  the  time,  each  of  them  elegant  vo- 
calists, who  performed  to  full  and  delighted 
audiences  for  two  or  three  months;  we  had 
Marino,  a  basso,  with  great  power  as  well 
as  a  splendid  performer ;  also  Beneventano, 
a  very  good  baritone;  and  we  had  numer- 
ous other  artists  of  greater  or  less  cele- 
brity. Madame  Patti  and  her  husband, 
the  parents  of  the  celebrated  Patti,  who 
has  been  abroad  so  many  years,  the  bril- 
liant and  universally  admired  prima  donna, 
in  all  the  capitals  of  Europe.  She  is  said 
to  have  no  rivals  in  her  own  roles.  Her 
mother  had  a  very  high  soprano  voice  of 
fine  quality,  and  I  distinctly  recollect  her  as 
Juliet,  in  the  opera  of  "  Romeo  and  Juliet," 
in  which  character  she  was  very  celebrated. 
Her  husband  was  stage-manager,  and  oc- 
casionally took  second-rate  characters  in 
the  opera.  The  chorus  were  well  drilled, 


120  AUTOBIOGEAPHY    OF 

and  gave  universal  satisfaction.  The  au- 
thors of  the  leading  operas  performed  were 
Rossini,  Donizetti,  and  Bettini.  Rossini's 
opera  of  the  "  Barber  of  Seville,"  I  have 
heard  sung  over  one  hundred  times.  It 
was  always  a  great  favorite  with  the  lovers 
of  music.  As  I  have  said  before,  it  was 
the  first  opera  performed  by  the  Garcia 
troupe,  at  the  old  Park  Theatre,  and  I  can 
almost  listen  even  now,  in  imagination,  to 
that  magnificent  voice  of  the  daughter 
(afterwards  Malibran),  although  forty 
years  have  passed  away. 

In-  this  connection  I  will  relate  a  little 
anecdote  of  Son  tag  and  Malibran,  those 
two  great  artists.  This  was  related  to  me 
by  Mr.  Charles  E.  Horn,  the  English  tenor, 
some  thirty  years  ago.  "  They  were  both 
engaged  at  the  London  Italian  opera. 
'Norma'  was  performed  one  evening,  in 
which  each  had  a  role,  the  one  in  the  char- 
acter of  *  Norma,'  and  the  other  as  l  Adel- 
gisa.'  There  is  in  that  opera  one  of  the 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  121 

most  beautiful  duets  ever  written  by  man, 
and  sung  by  these  two  great  artists ;  there 
was  a  magic  inspiration  that  seemed  to  per- 
vade each  of  them  in  the  execution  of  this 
beautiful  duet.  At  its  close  they  involun- 
tarily threw  themselves  into  each  other's 
arms  and  embraced  each  other,  apparently 
ignoring  the  presence  of  the  audience ;  each 
had  imparted  to  the  other  the  magic  influ- 
ence of  their  mutual  glorious  execution, 
and  the  sympathetic  influence  of  each  filled 
their  own  souls  with  joy  and  delight.  They 
imparted  to  their  audience  the  same  elec- 
tric thrill  that  agitated  their  own  souls, 
and  it  is  needless  to  say  that  (when  free 
breathing  was  restored)  the  audience  de- 
manded the  duet  to  be  repeated." 

Song,  in  its  legitimate  sense,  is  an  attri- 
bute of  the  Deity,  for  we  read  in  the  Scrip- 
tures of  the  songs  of  the  Heavenly  Hosts, 
and  I  doubt  not  that  the  music  of  the 
upper  sanctuary  will  form  a  portion  of  the 
ecstatic  joys  of  Heaven. 


122  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

I  had  forgotten  to  mention  the  first  regu- 
lar Italian  opera  company  that  ever  sung 
in  this  city.  Palmo,  an  Italian,  who  had 
been  a  long  resident  here,  and  who  kept 
a  very  respectable  restaurant  in  Broadwaj 
(just  below  the  old  City  Hospital),  had  a 
great  taste  for  the  music  of  his  native 
country,  and  with  the  assistance  of  a  few 
of  his  countrymen  succeeded  in  obtaining 
a  lease  of  the  small  theatre  in  Chambers 
Street,  then  directly  opposite  the  site 
where  the  new  Court-House  now  stands, 
and  shortly  after  opened  it  with  Italian 
opera.  The  company  selected  were  very 
good  artists,  but  not  of  the  highest  rank. 
I  only  recollect  the  names  of  some  three  or 
four  of  the  principal  artists.  Benedetti, 
the  tenor;  Beneventano,  the  baritone;  and 
Barilla,  soprano.  It  was  a  very  respectable 
company,  and  was  well  equipped  with  a 
good  orchestra  and  chorus.  It  was  very 
well  supported  for  some  time,  but  at 
length  the  expenses  of  the  establishment 


N.    T.    HUBBAKD.  123 

overbalanced  the  receipts,  and  poor  Palrno 
had  finally  to  give  up  the  house  and  dis- 
band his  company;  and  it  was  currently 
reported  that  he  lost  all  his  previous  sav- 
ings in  this  enterprise.  I  was  a  regular  at- 
tendant at  this  house,  from  its  commence- 
ment to  its  close. 

Malibran  possessed  an  indomitable  will, 
and  was  very  self-reliant,  and  knowing  full 
well  her  powers  to  command,  she  never 
failed  to  put  them  into  practice,  when  the 
occasion  occurred,  which  very  often  hap- 
pened, and  she  invariably  came  forth  vic- 
torious. I  had  forgotten  to  mention  that 
during  her  residence  in  this  city,  she  was 
invited  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wainwright,  of 
Grace  Church  (then  on  the  corner  of 
Broadway  and  Rector  Street),  to  sing  one 
Sunday  morning  in  connection  with  the 
choir  attached  to  his  church.  (I  would  here 
remark  that  Dr.  Wainwright  was,  some 
years  later,  made  Bishop  of  this  diocese.) 
Malibran  kindly  accepted  the  doctor's  invi- 


1 24  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

tation.  Dr.  Wainwright  was  a  great  lover 
of  music,  and  he  frequently  attended  the 
musical  entertainments  I  so  often  gave  at 
my  own  house  on  Washington  Square,  con- 
sequently I  became  quite  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  him.  I  was  duly  informed 
by  the  doctor,  and  some  other  of  my  musi- 
cal friends,  of  the  day  she  was  to  sing  at 
Grace  Church,  and  it  is  needless  to  say 
that  I  repaired  to  the  church  at  an  early 
hour  of  the  morning,  flushed  with  high  ex- 
pectations of  enjoying  a  great  musical 
treat,  Nor  was  I  disappointed.  In  the 
course  of  the  morning  service  she  sang 
from  the  sublime  oratorio  of  Handel,  the 
solo,  "I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth." 
There  was  a  hushed  and  solemn  awe  that 
seemed  to  pervade  the  whole  congregation 
during  the  exquisite  and  masterly  execution 
of  that  glorious  gem  of  music.  It  was  a 
day  long  to  be  remembered  by  the  true 
lovers  of  music  Avho  were  present  on  that 
occasion.  I  had  repeatedly  heard  the 


N.    T.    IIUBBARD.  125 

same  solo  sung  by  many  superior  artists, 
but  Malibran  far  excelled  them  all. 

THE    ETTTERPIAlSr    SOCIETY. 

I  will  now  say  a  few  words  regarding 
one  of  our  old  musical  societies — the  Euter- 
pian.  It  was  purely  instrumental.  It  has 
for  many  years  ceased  to  exist.  I  believe 
every  member  is  now  dead,  except  Mr. 
Contoit  and  myself.  It  met  once  a  month, 
fifty  years  ago,  on  the  corner  of  Fulton  and 
Nassau  Streets,  and  twenty  years  later  at 
Riley's  Tavern,  in  West  Broadway.  The 
society  gave  a  public  concert  once  a  year 
at  the  old  City  Hotel,  and  after  the  con- 
cert a  ball ;  and  while  this  was  in  progress 
the  old"  members  had  a  supper  below.  It 
was  one  of  the  events  of  the  season,  and 
the  assembly-room  was  always  crowded 
on  the  occasion.  Samuel  B.  Romaine,  Esq., 
was  one  of  its  last  presidents.  I  can  now 
recollect  only  a  few  of  its  prominent  mem- 
bers— John  McKay,  J.  Westervelt,  and  Mr. 


126  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

Earl,  the  former  the  organist,  and  the  lat- 
ter the  leader  of  the  choir  in  the  old  Dutch 
Church  in  Nassau  Street,  now  occupied  as 
the  New  York  Post-office.  Mr.  Lamaire, 
Mr.  Kyle,  Mr.  Contoit,  of  ice-cream  mem- 
ory, and  many  others  whose  names  I  have 
forgotten. 

TEDESCO. 

It  was  quite  early  in  the  history  of  the 
introduction  of  Italian  opera  into  this  city 
that  a  vessel  arrived  here  from  Havana, 
consigned  to  the  old  firm  of  Spofford,  Tile- 
ston  <fe  Co.,  which  had  on  board  an  Italian 
company  of  artists,  who  had  been  singing 
there  to  the  close  of  their  engagement. 
This  company  came  consigned,  in  some 
measure,  to  the  above  firm,  for  an  intro- 
duction to  some-  of  our  music-loving  peo- 
ple. In  the  afternoon  of  the  day  on  which 
they  arrived,  young  Mr.  SpofFord  called  at 
my  office  and  requested  the  privilege  of  in- 
troducing me  to  the  prima  donna  of  the 
company,  knowing  me  to  take  great  inter- 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  127 

est  in  all  musical  matters.  I  accepted  liis 
invitation,  and  proposed  meeting  him  at 
the  Astor  House,  where  the  troupe  were 
stopping,  at  five  o'clock  that  afternoon. 

We  met  accordingly,  and  he  soon  dis- 
patched a  servant  to  advise  the  lady  that 
he  had  a  musical  friend  with  him,  whom 
he  wished  to  introduce.  A  few  moments 
later  a  reply  came  that  she  was  sick  and  in 
her  bed.  I  then  said  I  would  call  in  the 
morning  at  ten  o'clock,  and  was  about 
leaving  when  another  message  came  saying 
the  lady  would  receive  us.  Without  more 
ado  Mr.  Spofford  and  myself  were  con- 
ducted to  her  chamber.  An  elderly  lady 
was  standing  beside  the  bed,  who  was  in- 
troduced as  the  mother  of  the  prima  donna, 
while  the  young  lady  made  an  apology, 
saying  she  had  taken  cold  and  had  con- 
cluded to  nurse  herself  well  of  it.  This 
was  my  introduction  to  Tedesco.  We 
spent  a  short  time  in  a  pleasant  and  agree- 
able conversation,  in  which  she  told  me 


128  AUTOBIOGEAPHY    OF 

she  had  letters  of  introduction  to  Mr.  Simp- 
son, then  manager  of  the  Park  Theatre, 
whom  she  would  see  in  the  morning,  and 
hoped  to  arrange  with  him  for  a  short  en- 
gagement. I  promised  to  call  on  her  the 
next  day,  and  that  she  could  command  my 
services  to  assist  her,  as  far  as  it  was  in  my 
power  to  do  so.  I  called  on  her  the  follow- 
ing day,  and  was  most  graciously  received^ 
when  she  informed  me  that  she  had  seen 
Mr.  Simpson,  and  had  arranged  for  a  short 
season  of  opera,  to  commence  the  following 
week.  I  expressed  my  pleasure  at  this 
good  news,  and  told  her  I  should  go  at 
once  and  secure  five  seats  for  each  night  of 
her  performances. 

The  opening  night  at  length  came,  the 
theatre  was  well  filled,  and  the  opera  was 
"Ernani."  The  cavatina  in  the  first  act 
was  her  opening  song.  Her  appearance  on 
the  stage  created  a  sensation  throughout 
the  house,  for  she  had  a  most  commanding 
presence,  and  was  withal  a  very  handsome 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  129 

woman.  When  her  first  beautiful  notes 
were  heard  there  were  such  thunders  of 
applause  that  her  fame  as  a  vocalist  was 
as  firmly  established  as  the  ground  we 
tread  upon,  and  she  continued  to  gain  fresh 
laurels  from  all  her  future  performances. 

At  the  close  of  the  engagement  here,  the 
troupe  went- to  Boston,  where  she  received 
the  same  admiration  and  applause  that  was 
bestowed  upon  her  here.  During  her  en- 
gagement there  I  visited  Boston  with  some 
members  of  my  family,  and  we  attended 
the  opera  every  evening  during  our  stay 
there.  It  might  almost  be  supposed  that 
the  magnet  of  attraction  was  the  opera  that 
drew  me  there ;  be  it  so,  but  I  associated 
with  it  a  little  business  transaction  that 
could  have  been  postponed  to  a  later  period 
without  suffering  loss  by  the  delay. 
6* 


130  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 


CHAPTER   XIII. 


MEMBERS    OF   THE    PRODUCE    EXCHANGE. 

THE  first  idea  that  now  occurs  to  me  are 
the  most  prominent  merchants  of  our  Pro- 
duce Exchange.  I  am  the  oldest  member, 
and  when  I  first  went  on  'Change,  some 
fifty -five  years  ago,  our  meeting  was  at  the 
old  Tontine  building,  corner  of  Wall  and 
Water  Streets.  There  were,  comparatively, 
few  brokers  in  the  produce  line  in  those 
days,  and  the  floor  of  that  Exchange  was 
mostly  devoted  to  many  of  our  principal 
shipping  merchants ;  and  the  few  produce 
brokers,  who  attended  regularly,  had  the 
opportunity  of  making  the  acquaintance  of 
those  merchants,  and  the  more  industrious 
of  us  soon  acquired  a  thriving  business, 
from  them. 


N.    T.    IIUBBAIID.  131 

Some  years  later  the  Exchange  on  Wall 
Street  was  built,  and  we  removed  to  more 
commodious  quarters  in  that  building ;  in 
the  meantime  our  numbers  were  largely 
increased,  and  we  remained  there  until  the 
great  fire  that  burned  the  lower  part  of 
our  city,  including  our  Exchange.  From 
thence  we  removed  to  the  lofts  of  two 
large  buildings  in  Broad  Street,  procured 
for  that  purpose  by  a  committee  of  our 
Board,  and  remained  there  until  the  en- 
larged Exchange  on  Wall  Street  was  re- 
built. Here  we  remained  until  the  Govern- 
ment purchased  the  building  for  the  Cus- 
tom House ;  we  then  procured  the  building 
corner  of  Broad  and  South  Streets,  with  the 
two  adjoining  ones  on  South  and  Broad 
Streets,  and,  with  some  alterations,  it  made 
rather  a  convenient  place  for  the  meeting 
of  our  members. 

Some  two  or  three  years  later  the  prop- 
erty on  which  stands  our  present  Exchange 
was  purchased,  and  as  soon  as  the  present 


132  AUTOBIOGKAPHY   OF 

building  was  erected,  we  removed  to  it  and 
still  remain  there.  It  is  now  proposed, 
however,  by  some  of  our  members  that 
some  other  location  further  up-town  be 
procured  for  the  erection  of  a  still  larger 
building,  as  many  complain  that  the  pre- 
sent one  is  overcrowded.  Whether  this 
project  will  be  put  in  execution  at  an 
early  day  is  to  my  mind  very  uncertain. 

The  most  prominent  members  of  our 
Exchange  at  the  present  time  are  David 
Dows  &  Co.,  Jesse  Hoyt  &  Co.,  Armour, 
Plankinton  &  Co.,  Cragin  &  Co.,  Kent  & 
Co.,  Isaac  H.  Reed  &  Co.,  Jewell,  Harrison 
&  Co.,  "Ward,  Foster  &  Co.,  Brush  &  Co., 
Sawyer,  Wallace  &  Co.,  J.  M.  Requa  &  Co., 
Cooper  &  Co.,  Colgate  &  Co.,  B.  W.  Floyd, 
William  Moses,  Tompkins  &  Co.,  Work, 
Pennell  &  Foster,  J.  W.  McCulloh,  Wood- 
ruff &  Robinson,  Gould,  H.  Thorp,  and  over 
two  thousand  other  subscribers,  with  the 
larger  proportion  of  whom  I  am  totally 
unacquainted;  but  besides  the  twenty 


N.    T.    HUBBAKD.  133 

firms  above-named  there  are  doubtless  hun- 
dreds of  others  equally  prominent  and  as 
highly  respected  as  those  I  have  mentioned. 
I  beg  here  to  remark  that  the  two  first 
named  are  said  to  be  the  wealthiest  mem- 
bers of  the  Exchange. 

The  largest  importers  of  teas,  raw  silks, 
etc.,  for  many  years  past,  is  the  old  house 
of  A.  A.  Low  &  Brothers.  Some  few 
years  ago  they  had  ten  or  eleven  vessels  in 
the  China  trade,  now  they  have  but  three 
or  four.  The  importation  of  teas,  for  two 
or  three  years  past,  has  been  unprofitable. 
In  fact,  Mr.  Lyman,  for  many  years  a  pro- 
minent member  of  this  house,  told  me,  some 
time  ago,  that  they  were  then  selling  teas 
at  a  loss  of  ten  cents  a  pound,  and  hence 
the  sale  of  their  vessels. 

The  Suez  Canal,  since  its  opening  to  na- 
vigation, has  been  one  of  the  principal 
sources  through  which  teas  have  been  im- 
ported to  this  country.  The  time  between 
the  shipment  at  the  Chinese  ports  to  this 


134  AUTOBIOGEAPHY    OF 

country  does  not  average  one-half  as  much 
as  compared  with  the  old  route.  For  many 
years  I  have  been  intimately  acquainted 
with  Mr.  Lyman,  and  have  had  large  trans- 
actions with  the  house  in  supplying  their 
vessels  with  stores  and  cargo.  This  firm 
has  a  reputation  for  integrity,  honesty,  and 
liberality  in  all  their  transactions  that  will 
favorably  compare  with  any  other  large 
house -in  this  country.  It  always  gives  me 
pleasure  to  testify  to  the  worth  of  a  house 
so  universally  respected. 

In  this  connection  I  must  say  a  few 
words  in  relation  to  the  old  firm  of  Suydam, 
Sage  &  Co.,  who  did  a  very  large  commis- 
sion business  in  this  city  for  a  number  of 
years,  and  with  whom  I  had  large  business 
transactions.  Mr.  Suydam  died  many  years 
ago,  but  the  business  of  the  old  firm  con- 
tinued with  Mr.  Sage  and  one  or  two  of 
Mr.  Suydam's  sons.  Mr.  Sage  died  seve- 
ral years  ago,  leaving  a  family  of  sons  and 
daughters  and  his  widowed  wife. 


K.    T.    HUBBAED.  133 

May  15,  1874. — There  was  a  banquet 
given  at  Delmonico's  last  evening  by  a 
number  of  the  younger  members  of  the 
Exchange.  I  was  specially  invited  to  at- 
tend. I  was  compelled  to  decline  the  kind 
invitation  for  the  following  reasons :  For 
the  past  six  months  I  have  not  left  my 
lodgings  after  dark;  besides,  my  age  ad- 
monishes me  that  if  I  wish  to  retain  my 
present  good  health,  I  must  avoid  all 
crowded  assemblies,  where  mirth,  merri- 
ment, and  the  flowing  bowl  circulate  freely. 
Thus  I -am  often  compelled  to  deny  myself 
the  pleasures  of  an  hour,  lest  that  hour 
might  be  the  cause  of  days,  and  perhaps 
weeks,  of  regret  and  suffering.  I  was 
pleased  to  hear  on  'Change  to-day  from 
several  of  the  members,  who  attended  the 
festival  last  evening,  that  everything  passed 
off  very  pleasantly  and  agreeably  to  the 
company  present. 


136         AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE  AND  OLD 
MERCHANTS. 

I  have  just  returned  to  my  office  from 
the  rooms  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
it  being  their  monthly  meeting  for  the 
transaction  of  business,  as  also  the  day  for 
the  election  of  officers  for  the  ensuing  year. 
This  day  is  the  hundredth  year  of  its  first 
organization,  and  is  to  be  celebrated  this 
evening  with  a  banquet  at  Delmonico's.  I 
am  the  oldest  living  member  on  its  rolls. 

There  were  several  important  old  firms 
in  this  city,  now  extinct,  with  whom  I  had 
large  business  transactions.  N.  L.  &  G. 
Griswold,  G.  G.  &  S.  Howland  (after- 
wards Howland  &  Aspinwall) ;  the  younger 
branches  of  this  house  still  remain  under 
the  last-named  firm.  Spofford  &  Tileston? 
a  most  enterprising  firm,  established  them- 
selves many  years  ago  and  were  wonder- 
fully successful,  and  they  certainly  merited 
the  wealth  they  acquired.  In  the  mercan 


N.    T.    HUBBATCD.  137 

tile  community  no  name  stood  higher  than 
theirs.  Mr.  Tileston  was,  for  many  years, 
president  of  the  Phoenix  Bank. 


138  AUTOBIOGEAPHY    OF 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE    GREAT    FIRE    OF    1835. 

£  RESIDED  in  Cortlandt  Street  at  the 
time  of  tlie  occurrence  of  this  dreadful 
calamity.  During  the  evening  I  had  been 
attending  a  lecture  at  the  Mercantile  Lib- 
rary, then  located  in  Beekman  Street,  oppo 
site  the  Old  Brick  Church.  I  was,  at  this 
time,  a  stockholder  in  this  institution.  If 
my  memory  is  not  at  fault,  it  was  shortly 
before  nine  o'clock  when  the  fire-alarm  first 
sounded.  It  was  a  bitter  cold  night.  Very 
great  was  my  surprise  the  next  morning  in 
going  to  my  store,  to  discover  the  awful 
ravages  it  had  made  from  Wall  Street  to 
Coenties  Slip.  All  the  principal  buildings 
within  this  space  on  Wall,  South,  Front, 
Water,  and  Pearl  Streets  had  been  destroy- 


N.    T.    HUBBABD.  139 

ed.  It  was  a  smouldering  mass  of  ruins. 
When  I  reached  my  store  I  found  the  fire 
had  not  crossed  Coenties  Slip  on  the  lower 
side,  but  it  was  believed  by  many  that  it 
would,  and  I  at  once  made  arrangements  to 
remove  my  stock  of  goods  to  the  Battery, 
and  had  all  my  cartmen  and  workmen 
ready  on  the  spot  for  that  purpose,  but 
fortunately  I  was  not  molested  by  it. 

The  greater  portion  of  that  day  I  spent 
in  v.isiting  the  ruin  and  havoc  it  had  made. 
The  scene  was  most  truly  a  melancholy 
one,  but  in  a  comparatively  short  time  the 
debris  of  the  burnt  district  was  removed, 
and  new  stores  immediately  erected ;  and  in 
many  locations  property  advanced  more 
than  to  cover  the  cost  of  erecting  new 
buildings.  In  fact,  the  losses  sustained  by 
our  merchants  was  in  the  loss  of  their 
destroyed  goods,  which  in  many  instances 
would  have  amounted  to  nothing  had  not 
most  of  our  insurance  companies  become 
so  crippled  that  they  were  unable  to  pay. 


140  AUTOBIOGKAPHY    OF 

It  is  truly  a  matter  of  wonder  and  surprise 
to  see  how  soon  after  great  fires  have  de- 
vastated our  large  cities,  how  they  spring, 
like  the  fabled  phoenix,  from  their  ashes ! 
It  truly  may  be  said  we  are  a  go-ahead 
people.  We  do  our  business  rapidly  and 
quickly,  without  any  loss  of  time. 

There  are  but  few  of  the  old  landmarks 
remaining  to  tell  the  present  generation 
what  New  York  was  seventy- six  years  ago. 
No.  1  Broadway  is  said  to  have  been  built 
one  hundred  and  seventeen  years  ago.  The 
brick  was  imported  from  Holland,  and  the 
building  was  probably  looked  upon,  in 
those  early  days,  as  a  model  of  everything 
desirable  in  the  way  of  architecture  and 
comfort ;  but  the  building  has  been  almost 
entirely  remodelled.  The  old  building  on 
the  corner  of  Broad  and  Pearl  Streets  is 
another  old-time  association  of  this  city ; 
it  has  been  kept  for  several  years  as  a 
public  house.  The  next  old  landmark  is 
the  Walton  House,  in  Pearl  Street,  oppo- 


N.    T.    HUBBAED.  141 

site  Harper  <fe  Brothers'  publishing  house. 
There  may  be  a  few  other  old  landmarks 
about  the  city,  but  I  doubt  if  any  can.  claim 
the  same  age  as  those  I  have  mentioned. 
The  city  of  New  York  has  been  built  over 
two  or  three  times  during  the  past  eighty 
or  ninety  years.  And  the  immense  rise  in 
real  estate,  during  the  past  twenty-five 
years,  warrants  all  the  improvements  that 
have  taken  place  in  that  period. 

CEOTON    WATEE INTEODUCTION    TO    NEW 

YOEK. 

The  celebration  on  the  occasion  of  the 
introduction  of  the  Croton-  water  into  our 
city,  many  years  ago,  will  long  be  remem- 
bered. The  procession  on  this  occasion 
was  the  most  imposing  and  magnificent  I 
ever  beheld.  All  the  mechanical  arts  were 
represented  —  the  different  trades,  and, 
taken  altogether,  it  was  an  outburst  of  joy 
at  the  completion  of  this  great  work ;  and 


142  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

liow  thankful  we  should  be  for  the  great 
benefits  we  have  derived  from  it,  but  the 
great  majority  do  not  think  of  the  inestim- 
able blessing  it  has  conferred.  The  day 
was  observed  throughout  the  city  as  a  gen- 
eral holiday,  business  was  almost  entirely 
suspended,  and  every  one  seemed  to  rejoice 
that  this  great  work  was  finished.  It  re- 
quires a  pen  greatly  superior  to  mine  to 
paint  and  portray  the  glowing  scenes  of 
that  day ;  but  the  present  generation  can- 
not fully  appreciate  the  joy  and  gladness 
that  thrilled  our  souls  at  the  prospect  here-- 
after of  drinking  from  God's  pure  foun- 
tain the  pure  water  of  life. 

To  Mr.  Van  Schaick,  more  than  any  other 
man,  was  this  city  indebted  for  the  early  in- 
troduction of  the  Croton  water.  He  was  one 
of  its  directors  and  president  of  the  board, 
and  exerted  all  his  powers,  and  gave  all 
his  time,  to  the  task  that  devolved  upon 
him.  I  was  personally  acquainted  with 
Mr.  Van  Schaick  (formerly  one  of  the  part- 


N.    T.    HUBBAED.  143 

ners  of  the  Louse  of  John  &  Philip  Hone), 
and  although  we  differed  in  politics  I  al- 
ways gave  him  my  vote  whenever  he  was 
a  candidate  for  any  municipal  office,  for  I 
esteemed  him  highly,  and  knew  him  to  be 
a  strictly  honest  man. 

OUK    MARKETS. 

In  regard  to  the  early  markets  of  this 
city  there  was  one  in  Broad  Street  in  1800, 
between  Water  and  South  Streets,  but  my 
memory  is  at  fault  when  it  was  demolished. 
It  remained  only  a  few  years.  There  was 
another  one  in  Maiden  Lane  at  the  same 
time,  in  1800,  commencing  at  Broadway 
and  running  down  some  distance ;  but 
again  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know  when  this 
was  demolished.  The  old  Fly  Market,  in 
Maiden  Lane,  ran  from  Pearl  Street  to  the 
East  River.  This  was  one  of  the  largest 
and  most  prominent  of  any  in  the  city.  It 
remained  a  number  of  years  on  that  site, 
and  was  finally  demolished,  and  the  present 


144  AUTOBIOGEAPHY   OF 

Fulton  Market  erected  in  its  stead.  The 
present  Washington  Market  was  first 
erected  in  Greenwich  Street,  and  some 
years  after  re-built  on  its  present  site,  and 
enlarged  from  time  to  time.  The  Cathar- 
ine Street  Market  was  built  previous  to  my 
residence  in  the  city,  in  1798,  and  it  still 
remains,  with  some  additions.  The  next 
in  importance  was  the  Canal  Street  Mar- 
ket, foot  of  Spring  and  Canal  Streets,  but 
I  cannot  give  the  date  when  it  was  erected. 
There  are  many  others  in  the  upper  por- 
tion of  the  city  that  I  have  never  seen,  but 
I  did  not  purpose  when  I  commenced  these 
papers  to  give  any  description  of  the  rapid 
growth  and  extension  of  the  city  for  the 
past  thirty -five  years,  with  the  exception  of 
a  few  of  the  more  important  erections  of 
mammoth  structures  of  recent  dates,  well 
knowing  that  the  present  generation  are 
better  posted  than  myself  in  regard  to  the 
rapid  growth  of  our  city.  There  are  nu- 
merous portions  of  it  I  have  never  seen,  and 


N.    T.    HUBBAED.  145 

there  are  hundreds  of  extensive  manufac- 
tories whose  doors  I  have  never  entered. 
The  Jefferson  Market,  on  Sixth  Avenue, 
between  Eighth  and  Ninth  Streets,  I  pat- 
ronized during  my  residence  on  Washing- 
ton Square  (twenty-nine  years).  I  am  not 
posted  when  that  market  was  built. 
7 


146  AUTOBIOGKAPHY    OF 


CHAPTER  XV. 

PUBLIC    MEN. 

I  HAVE  always  considered  Clay  and 
Webster  the  two  great  intellectual  giants 
in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  and,  in 
my  opinion,  we  have  had  nothing  to  equal 
them  since  their  day.  When  Mr.  Clay  was 
running  for  President,  in  opposition  to  Polk, 
I  gave  the  old  Whig  committee  $200  to  add 
to  the  fund  for  the  support  of  Mr.  Clay ; 
but  he  was  defeated  by  jugglery  and  cor- 
ruption, la  my  early  manhood  I  resided 
for  many  years  in  the  Seventh  Ward,  and 
regularly  attended  the  Whig  ward  meet- 
ings, and  for  three  or  four  years  was  regu- 
larly nominated  the  secretary  of  these 
meetings.  At  this  period  we  had  no 
printed  ballots ;  they  were  all  written,  and 
for  two  or  three  days  previous  to  the  elec- 


N.    T.    HUBBATCD.  147 

tion  I  employed  most  of  my  time  in  writ- 
ing out  ballots  for  distribution ;  but  I  beg 
here  to  say  that  I  never  applied  for  any 
political  office  in  my  life.  My  business 
absorbed  all  my  time,  as  I  have  said  be- 
fore. I  have  been  a  regular  business  mer- 
chant for  over  sixty  years,  and  during  that 
period,  say  from  thirty  to  thirty-five  years, 
my  average  income  was  more  than  the 
salary  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States.  I  have  always  paid  one  hundred 
cents  on  the  dollar  for  every  purchase  I 
ever  made,  which  has  amounted  to  many 
millions  ^during  my  lifetime.  This  fact 
gives  me  more  comfort  and  pleasure  in  my 
old  age  than  all  the  gold  in  Wall  Street, 
particularly  as  no  portion  of  it  was  ob- 
tained by  fraud  or  dishonesty.  I  never 
was  a  worshipper  of  the  almighty  dollar, 
but  I  took  much  pleasure  in  making  it 
honestly. 

During  the  period  of  my  prosperity  in 
business  I  kept  horses  and  carriages,  more 


148  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

particularly  for  the  benefit  and  pleasure  of 
my  family,  for  I  cared  but  little  for  riding, 
and  did  not  drive  out  of  the  city  for  pleas- 
ure three  times  a  year.  I  had  my  wagon, 
which  was  always  ordered  to  be  at  my  door 
every  morning,  and  after  taking  breakfast 
I  would  call  on  my  mimerous  customers 
around  the  city,  and  drive  from  thence  to  my 
store  on  Front  Street,  where  I  discharged 
my  coachman,  with  orders  to  wait  on  my 
family  for  the  remainder  of  the  day.  Dur- 
ing the  time  of  my  large  and  prosperous 
business  I  was  in  the  habit  of  returning 
home  at  from  four  to  five  o'clock,  and  dining 
at  six  o'clock,  with  my  mind  freed  from 
all  business  cares,  and  devoted  my  even- 
ings, four  or  five  of  them  weekly,  to  the 
Opera  and  other  musical  entertainments, 
in  which  I  so  much  delighted. 

GENERAL    JACKSON. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  of  1812  Gen- 
eral Jackson  visited  this  city,  and  in  his 


N.    T.    IIUBBARD.  149 

honor  a  public  dinner  was  given  at  Tam- 
many Hall.  I  was  one  of  the  many  who 
attended  it.  The  tickets  were  $5.  At 
this  time  there  was  a  great  division  in  the 
Democratic  ranks  between  De  Witt  Clin- 
ton and  Daniel  D.  Tompkins,  the  greater 
portion  favoring  the  latter..  When  the 
General  was  called  on  for  his  toast,  he 
gave  "  De  Witt  Clinton,  Governor  of  the 
State  of  New  York."  At  this  announce- 
ment a  large  portion  of  the  guests  dropped 
their  heads  as  if  thunderstruck.  The  even- 
ing passed  away,  however,  very  pleasantly, 
with  music,  songs,  and  wine,  and  at  a  some- 
what late  hour  we  all  retired,  well  pleased 
with  the  evening's  entertainment.  As  I 
have  before  said,  I  will  here  again  remark, 
that  I  was  never  a  Democrat,  but  always 
a  Whig  in  those  days  of  the  Clay  and 
Webster  school.  I  always  voted  against 
every  Democratic  candidate  for  the  Presi- 
dencv,  Andrew  Jackson  included. 


150  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

THE  YOUNG  MEN  FORMERLY  IN  MY  EMPLOY. 

I  NOW  propose  to  speak  of  .the  young 
men  who  were  in  my  employ  many  years 
ago,  and  it  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  record 
the  many  sterling  qualities  they  possessed, 
without  arrogating  to  myself  any  credit  for 
the  instructions  given  to  these  boys.  I  re- 
fer to  them  as  men  and  merchants,  whether 
I  ever  failed  by  example  or  precept  from 
giving  them  aught  but  good  advice.  I  en- 
deavored to  instil  into  their  minds  that 
honesty  was  the  true  policy ;  and,  all  other 
considerations  aside,  this  noble  truth  will 
abide  all  consequences  and  will  remain  for- 
ever— that  an  honest  man  is  the  noblest 
work  of  God. 

My  first  clerk  was  William  C.  Dougherty, 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  151 

who  remained  with  me  spme  fifteen  years, 
and  the  latter  portion  of  his  time  I  gave 
him  an  interest  in  my  business  ;  he  was  a 
man  of  strict  integrity.  He  left  my  con- 
cern many  years  ago,  and  established  him- 
self in  business  on  his  own  account,  in 
which  he  has  prospered,  and  has  taken 
rank  on  'Change,  for  his  honesty  and  in- 
dustry, with  the  most  prominent  members 
of  that  institution. 

Charles  Fordham  was  the  second  boy  I 
took  into  my  office.  With  his  father's  fam- 
ily I  was  intimately  acquainted.  Some  years 
ago  he  left  me  to  seek  his  fortune  in  Cali- 
fornia. He  was  taken  sick  in  San  Francisco 
and  died ;  he  was  a  most  excellent  young- 
man. 

Theodore  Johnson  was  the  third  young 
man  I  took  in  my  employ;  he  remained 
with  me  a  number  of  years.  He  was 
strictly  honest  and  attentive  to  business, 
and  commanded  the  universal  respect  of 
all  who  knew  him. 


152  AUTOBIOGEAPHY    OF 

Mr.  Charles  H.  Johnson,  brother  of  the 
former,  was  my  fourth  clerk,  who  remained 
in  my  office  for  many  years.  He  was,  like 
his  brother,  honest,  industrious  and  inte- 
ligent,  and  respected  by  all  who  knew  him. 
He  attends  our  Produce  Exchange  daily, 
and  is  a  highly  respectable  member. 

John  Dougherty,  my  fifth  clerk,  who  is 
a  nephew  of  William  C.  Dougherty,  my 
first,  came  into  my  office  at  the  age  of 
seventeen  years  and  remained  until  he  was 
twenty  one.  He  was,  like  my  other  clerks, 
honest,  industrious,  and  attentive  to  busi- 
ness ;  he  also  is  a  daily  attendant  on  the 
Exchange,  and  occupies  there  a  highly  re- 
spectable position. 

My  sixth  clerk  was  a  brother  of  my 
two  former  clerks  named  Johnson.  I  can 
scarcely  recollect  him,  for  shortly  after  he 
came  with  me  he  was  taken  ill  and  died 
suddenly. 

In  referring  to  the  clerks  I  have  brought 
up  in  my  office  I  am  not  unmindful  of  the 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  153 

services  of  gentlemen  who  rendered  m*; 
great  service  during  my  business  career. 
I  allude  to  the  different  bookkeepers  I  have 
had  in  my  employ.  There  must  necessarily 
be  a  distinction  between  the  young  men  I 
took  in  my  employ  and  those  who  came 
with  me  as  accomplished  accountants.  I 
never  had  cause  to  find  the  first  fault  with 
any  of  them. 

In  the  past  forty  years,  five  have  been 
in  my  employ,  and,  with  the  exception  of 
Mr.  Pollock,  who  was  the  last  I  employed, 
they  are  all  dead.  But  J  desire  here  to 
say  of  this  gentleman,  that  no  one  in  my 
employ  gave  me  greater  satisfaction. 

I  allude  to  them  all,  with  that  certain 
knowledge  I  possess,  that  they  were  gen- 
tlemen of  integrity  and  character ;  and  in 
paying  this  little  tribute  of  regard  to  my. 
old  bookkeepers,  I  have  felt  it  a  duty  to 
connect,  their  names  with  the  other  clerks 
I  employed. 
7* 


154  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

CENTRAL   PARK. 

THERE  have  never  been  two  acts  of  incor- 
poration for  our  city  of  which  I  am  .so 
proud,  and  for  which  I  used  all  the  influ- 
ence I  possessed  so  perseveringly,  as  for  the 
Croton  water  and  the  Central  Park.  Of 
the  former,  it  was  almost  my  daily  advo- 
cacy for  two  or  three  years  before  the  final 
act  of  incorporation.  The  cost  was  the 
great  bugbear  with  many  of  our  citizens, 
while  I  scouted  the  cost  at  any  figures, 
however  large,  declaring  I  was  willing  to 
pay  $500  a  year  for  its  use  sooner  than  not 
obtain  it.  Croton  water  has  been  my  con- 
stant and  daily  beverage  since  its  introduc- 
tion, and  I  have  no  doubt  it  has  been  the 
cause  of  adding  many  years  to  my  pro- 
longed life.  Previous  to  its  introduction  I 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  155 

bought  water  for  drinking  purposes,  and 
used  my  well  water  for  other  domestic 
uses,  and  for  my  stable.  I  have  ever 
esteemed  it  one  of  the  greatest  blessings 
ever  conferred  on  this  city ;  but  the  present 
generation  cannot  fully  appreciate  its 
worth,  for  they  never  knew  its  loss. 

Central  Park  was  the  next  great  blessing 
to  our  city,  for  which  I  was  a  strenuous 
advocate.  I  have  watched  its  incipient 
beginning  up  to  the  present  day,  and  feel 
proud  of  its  advancement  to  its  present 
condition.  Its  drives  and  walks  are  unsur- 
passed ;  its  bridges  and  ornamentations  are 
substantial  and  beautiful;  its  lakes,  with 
the  surrounding  scenery,  are  very  interest- 
ing ;  the  shady  walks  in  the  Ramble  are 
delightful,  while  the  general  outline  of  the 
Park  is  ornamented  with  numerous  rustic 
bowers.  In  addition  to  all  these  attrac- 
tions, there  are  vastly  more  important  facts 
relating  to  the  influence  the  Park  presents 
to  the  poorer  classes  of  our  citizens,  many 


156  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

of  whom  were  in  the  habit  of  spending  their 
Sundays  in  dram-shops  before  the  opening 
of  this  magnificent  work,  and  who  now  go 
regularly  with  their  families,  providing 
themselves  with  the  necessaries  to  spend  the 
greater  portion  of  the  day ;  hence  they  com- 
mingle with  the  more  respectable  classes  of 
society,  and  this,  no  doubt,  has  had  a  great 
influence  on  many  who  had  been  (as  before 
said)  in  the  habit  of  passing  the  day  so 
very  differently. 

The  largest  and  most  substantial  work 
in  the  Park  is  the  Terrace,  at  the  head  of 
the  Mall,  near  the  large  fountain  and  the 
lake.  It  is  the  decided  gern  of  the  Park, 
most  elaborately  adorned  with  carvings  by 
the  best  artists  in  this  country,  and  is  actu- 
ally a  study  and  delight  to  those  who  have 
a  taste  for  sculpture  to  critically  examine 
it.  This  work  is  said  to  have  cost  half 
a  million  of  dollars.  The  interior,  dur- 
ing the  spring  and  summer,  is  used  as  a 
restaurant,  the  ceiling  of  which  is  a  per- 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  157 

feet  gem  of  art,  and  cannot  fail  of  strik 
ing  the  most  indifferent  visitor  with  won- 
der and  delight.  I  have  examined  it 
time  and  again  with  renewed  pleasure. 
There  is  another  building  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Park,  erected  for  soda-water 
fountains,  very  unique  in  its  architecture 
and  proportions,  and  highly  ornamented. 
The  old  Arsenal  appears  of  late  to  be 
the  great  centre  of  attraction  for  a  large 
proportion  of  the  visitors,  many  of  them 
thinking  this  more  interesting  than  any 
other  portion  of  the  Park,  with  its  mu- 
seum of  wild  animals,  birds  and  a  thou- 
sand other  curiosities  too  numerous  to  men- 
tion. When  I  go  to  the  Park  I  always 
stop  at  the  Casino,  where  I  usually  take  an 
ice-cream  and  a  lemonade.  The  proprie- 
tors of  the  Casino  I  have  been  personally 
acquainted  with  for  many  years.  They 
are  both  highly  respectable  gentlemen. 
The  two  largest  reservoirs  of  the  Croton 
are,  in  this  Park,  while  the  distributing  res- 


158  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

ervoir  is  on  Murray  Hill,  which  supplies 
all  the  lower  portion  of  the  city.  There 
are  many  interesting  points  in  the  upper 
portion  of  the  Park  which  I  have  not  vis- 
ited for  two  years  past,  and  during  that 
time  further  improvements  have  doubtless 
been  made  in  beautifying  the  grounds  in 
that  portion.  What  would  our  citizens  do 
in  their  leisure  hours  without  the  pleasures 
arising  from  their  drives,  or  rambles  on  foot, 
through  Central  Park  ?  There  is  one  im- 
portant carving  (I  forgot  to  mention)  near 
the  Casino,  of  two  figures  carved  in  stone, 
illustrating  a  social  scene  in  the  life  of 
Robert  Burns  the  poet,  which  thousands  of 
our  citizens  stop  to  admire;  it  illustrates 
a  scene  from  his  "  Tarn  o'  Shanter  and 
Souter  Johnny,"  and  was  executed  by  one 
of  the  workmen  employed  on  the  Park, 
who  also  executed  a  portion  of  the  carv- 
ings on  the  Terrace. 

The  new  Post-Office,  now  in  course  of 
completion  in  the  City  Hall  Park,  is  a  mag- 


N.    T.    IIUBBARD.  159 

nificent  building,  as  well  as  an  ornament  to 
our  city.  I  well  recollect,  fifty-five  years 
ago,  when  our  city  Post-Office  was  on  the 
corner  of  William  and  Garden  Streets,  now 
Exchange  Place.  Mr.  Bailey  was  then 
Postmaster.  At  that  period  I  paid  $3  a 
year  for  my  private  box.  I  now  pay  $16, 
but  the  increase  in  this  particular  is  not 
more  than  the  increase  for  other  neces- 
saries. 


160  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE    OLD    ARISTOCRACY. 

SEVENTY  years  ago  there  were  many 
more  aristocratic  families  in  this  city  than 
there  are  at  the  present  time.  There  were 
then  quite  a  large  number  of  the  old 
Knickerbockers  who  have  passed  away 
during  the  past  two  generations.  I  can 
distinctly  remember  the  names  of  many  of 
them — the  Livingstons,  the  Bayards,  the 
Kings,  the  Gracies,  the  Varicks,  the  Os- 
goods,  the  McEvers,  the  Van  Rensselaers, 
the  Primes,  and  many  others  I  cannot  call 
to  mind.  They  were  in  the  habit  of  giving, 
two  or  three  times  a  year,  dancing  assem- 
blies at  the  old  City  Hotel.  The  company 
was  very  exclusive,  and  it  was  difficult  for 
an  outsider  to  gain  admittance,  except 


N.   T.    HUBBARD.  161 

highly  recommended  by  some  of  the  mana- 
gers. There  was  much  etiquette  observed 
at  their  assemblies,  particularly  so  when  any 
new  members  were  first  introduced.  That 
generation  has  mostly  passed  away,  and 
two  new  generations  have  succeeded  them, 
who  have  principally  been  the  architects 
of  their  own  fortunes,  and  many  of  them 
have  attained  to  great  wealth — some  of 
them,  whose  ancestors  were  from  the  low- 
est grades  of  society ;  but  great  credit  is 
due  to  those  who  sprung  from  poverty  to 
independence.  The  present  test  of  society 
is  he  who  can  wield  the  largest  purse.  At 
this  time  the  almighty  dollar  covers  a  mul 
titude  of  sins,  and  is  the  idol  which  thou- 
sands worship. 

It  may  appear  somewhat  invidious,  in 
writing  my  own  biography  in  connection 
with  incidents  appertaining  to  this  city 
seventy  years  ago,  to  speak  in  praise  of  my 
own  ancestry,  but  when  given  strictly  in 
truth  and  sincerity,  without  any  prevarica 


162  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

tion  whatever,  I  feel  certainly  justified  in 
so  doing,  and,  as  before  observed,  of  my 
ancestry  both  on  my  father's  and  mother's 
side  I  feel  very  proud,  and  would  to  God  I 
had  inherited  all  their  virtues. 

PETER  COOPER,  ETC. 

There  is  a  name  that  will  go  down  to 
posterity  ranking  with  the  greatest  philan- 
thropists of  the  age.  I  allude  to  Mr.  Peter 
Cooper.  Perhaps  there  is  no  one  man  in 
this  city  who  has  so  largely  contributed,  by 
his  acts  of  benevolence,  to  ameliorate  the 
condition  of  our  worthy  poor  by  providing 
instruction  in  various  branches  of  knowl- 
edge, particularly  scientific,  by  which  they 
will  be  enabled  to  earn  a  respectable  liv- 
ing. Mr.  Cooper  is  entitled  to  the  thanks 
of  every  citizen  of  this  city,  and  I  would 
rather  be  the  wearer  of  the  garland  that  is 
gathering  upon  his  brow  than  the  crown  of 
any  monarch  upon  earth ;  for  the  latter  will 
soon  perish  with  its  using,  while  the  gar- 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  1(>3 

land  will  grow  more  and  more  beautiful 
for  ages  to  come.  And  may  the  Cooper 
Institute  continue  to  nourish  and  commu- 
nicate instruction  to  thousands  of  the  pre- 
sent and  rising  generations,  and  may  its 
name  live  for  generations  to  come  in  the 
grateful  recollection  of  their  friend  and 
benefactor. 

The  present  century  has  been  one  in 
which  science  has  reached  the  most  bril- 
liant results.  The  application  of  steam  to 
all  the  industries  in  mechanical  operations 
of  the  day,  but  more  particularly  to  the 
propelling  power  of  our  marine,  is  unpre- 
cedented in  any  former  age  of  the  world. 
The  ocean  is  now  literally  covered  with 
thousands  of  steamers  which  navigate  every 
portion  of  our  globe,  and  we  have  been  so 
accustomed  to  see  them  arrive  and  depart, 
that  we  hardly  realize  the  inestimable  bene- 
fits arising  from  this  great  invention. 

In  my  estimation,  the  electric  telegraph 
far  surpasses  any  former  achievement  of 


164  AUTOBIOGEAPHT    OF 

man  in  the  sciences.  The  utmost  stretch 
of  the  powers  of  man  cannot  describe  or 
tell  us  the  causes,  why  or  wherefore,  a  mes- 
sage sent  over  the  electric  wire  three  thou- 
sand miles,  either  under  water  or  overland, 
will  reach  its  destination  in  two  or  three 
minutes.  It  is  altogether  incomprehen- 
sible, it  cannot  be  explained ;  although  the 
facts  are  plain  and  positive,  it  is  mira- 
culous and  almost  strikes  me  as  being  a 
spark  from  the  Divinity  itself,  and  guided 
by  the  same  Divine  power.  "  There  is  a 
limit  across  which  man  cannot  carry  any 
one  of  its  conceptions,  and  from  the  ulterior 
of  which  he  cannot  gather  a  single  ray  of 
light  to  guide  or  inform  him."  The  above 
quotation  in  some  measure  illustrates  the 
workings  of  that  mysterious  power  con- 
nected with  the  electric  telegraph  which 
defies  both  time  and  space.  Suffice  it  to 
say,  the  names  of  Fulton  and  Morse  will 
go  down  to  posterity  with  accumulated 
blessings  and  honor  for  all  time  to  come. 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  165" 

JOHN   JACOB    ASTOR. 

John  Jacob  Astor  occupied  a  high  posi- 
tion for  wealth  during  the  early  part  of 
my  business  career.  He  then  resided  in 
Broadway,  on  the  site  of  the  present  Astor 
House,  in  a  large  fifty-  f  e,et  front  house, 
while  his  business  office  was  in  the  rear, 
on  Vesey  Street,  where  he  sold  his  furs.  I 
believe  the  present  generation  are  fully 
aware  that  from  "his  extensive  dealings  in 
furs  he  laid  the  foundation  of  his  enor- 
mous fortune.  He  was  the  owner  of  the 
Park  Theatre,  and  I  occasionally  went 
there  in  my  younger  days,  and  I  always 
saw  the  old  gentleman  there  in  his  private 
box,  which  was  located  at  the  end  of  the 
orchestra  through  the  pit  entrance.  One 
might  moralize  on  the  life  and  death  of  such 
a  man ;  his  accumulation  of  millions  upon 
millions  are  of  no  more  avail  to  him  now 
than  to  the  poorest  who  sleep  near  his 
grave — in  this  one  respect  they  are  equal. 


166  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

Mr.  Astor  entered  largely  into  real  estate 
at  an  early  day,  and  his  heirs  are  undoubt- 
edly the  largest  real  estate  owners  in  this 
country. 

COLONEL    HENRY    RUTGERS. 

When  my  father  first  removed  to  this 
city  in  1798,  he  located  his  family  in  the 
Seventh  Ward,  first  in  Cheapside  Street, 
then  in  Henry,  and  at  length  in  Rutgers 
Street.  Colonel  Rutgers  lived  three  or 
four  blocks  above  Rutgers  Street;  the 
grounds  about  his  house  occupied  an  entire 
block.  He  was  then  one  of  the  most  pro- 
minent men  of  the  day.  He  possessed  an 
immense  landed  estate  of  several  thousands 
of  lots  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of 
his  private  dwelling.  He  was  never  mar- 
ried ;  he  was  most  highly  respected  by  all 
who  knew  him.  He  was  a  quiet  and  un- 
ostentatious man.  In  addition  to  these 
qualities  he  was  very  charitable,  and  distri- 
buted his  large  wealth  with  a  liberal  hand. 


N.    T.    HTJBBARD.  167 

He  gave  the  ground  on  which  the  Rutgers 
Street  Presbyterian  Church  now  stands, 
and  contributed  largely  to  the  means  for 
the  erection  of  the  church.  His  nephew, 
Mr.  William  B.  Crosby,  was  his  sole  agent 
in  superintending  his  large  estate,  renting 
and  collecting  his  revenues.  Mr.  Crosby 
was  the  father  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Howard 
Crosby,  and  the  present  Chancellor  of  the 
New  York  University.  Colonel  Rutgers 
left  to  his  nephew  a  large  property. 

My  removal  so  many  years  ago  from 
that  portion  of  the  city  has  left  me  totally 
ignorant  of  the  then  rising  population,  and 
the  Crosbys,  as  well  as  many  other  families 
with  whom  I  was  formerly  acquainted, 
have  passed  from  my  memory  like  a  morn- 
ing dream.  After  the  death  of  Colonel 
Rutgers,  Mr.  Crosby  and  family  occupied 
the  premises  for  many  years,  until  the 
growth  and  extension  of  business  com- 
pelled him  to  dispose  of  his  property  for 
business  purposes,  and  the  entire  grounds 


168  AUTOBIOGKAPHY    OF 

were  converted  into  stores,  where  the  busy 
population  of  to-day  are  applying  their  vo- 
cation in  the  once  peaceful  and  quiet  home 
of  its  former  occupants. 

My  sister  (Mrs.  Wilkie)  resided  oppo- 
site Colonel  Rutgers  for  many  years,  and 
their  families  were  intimately  acquainted. 


N.    T.    HUBBAIID.  169 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

CHURCHES. 

IN  1798  tliere  were  but  three  Presby- 
terian Churches  in  this  city,  namely — the 
Wall  Street  Church,  the  Brick  Church,  and 
the  Rutgers  Street  Church.  The  officiating 
clergymen  were  the  Rev.  Dr.  Rodgers,  Rev. 
Dr.  McKnight,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel 
Miller.  They  alternated  weekly  between 
the  three.  My  father's  family  attended 
the  Rutgers  Street  Church,  and  my  father 
was  for  several  years  a  ruling  member  or 
deacon.  I  heard  the  Rev.  Dr.  Miller 
preach  the  centennial  sermon  in  1800.  I 
was  then  fifteen  years  of  age.  What  vast 
changes  since  then  !  The  number  of  Pres- 
byterian Churches  scattered  throughout 
the  city  is  almost  incredible.  During  my 


170  AUTOBIOGEAPHY    OF 

residence  in  Cortlandt  Street  I  attended 
the  Murray  Street  Church,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
McAuley  was  then  its  pastor.  In  later 
years  this  church  was  sold  and  carefully 
taken  down,  and  removed  to  Eighth  Street, 
Dr.  McAuley  still  retaining  the  pastorship. 
This  church  finally  got  into  financial  diffi- 
culties and  was  re-sold  to  Mr.  A.  T.  Stew- 
art. It  still  remains  standing,  and  is  now 
known  as  St.  Ann's  Catholic. 

The  clergymen  who  occupied  the  pulpits 
of  the  different  churches  named  in  this 
paper  were  men  of  mark.  Of  the  three 
first  named,  Dr.  Samuel  Miller  occupied  the 
first  rank  in  my  opinion.  During  my  resi- 
dence on  Washington  Square  I  attended 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Potts'  church,  who  was  a  man 
of  very  superior  talents,  and  gave  univer- 
sal satisfaction  to  his  congregation.  This 
church  was  located  on  the  corner  of  Ninth 
Street  and  University  Place. 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  171 

ST.  PAUL'S  CHURCH,  TRINITY,  AND  ST.  JOHN'S. 

St.  Paul's  Church  is  the  oldest  Episcopal 
edifice  in  this  city.  I  distinctly  recollect, 
on  my  first  visit  to  New  York,  when  I  was 
not  more  than  eight  years  of  age,  I  was  so 
fascinated  (as  young  as  I  was)  with  the 
beautiful  structure  and  its  surroundings, 
that  I  often  stopped  and  gazed  on  it  with 
childish  admiration  and  delight,  for,  of 
course,  it  was  a  perfect  wonder  to  me,  and 
I  could  scarcely  believe  that  such  immense 
buildings  could  be  erected  for  church  pur- 
poses, drawing  the  comparison  between  it 
and  our  plain  meeting-houses  in  Orange 
County.  Within  a  year  or  so  this  church 
has  been  entirely  renovated  in  the  interior, 
and  it  now  presents  itself,  with  its  beauti- 
ful stained  glass  and  many  other  improve- 
ments, as  second  to  no  church  in  this  city, 
notwithstanding  iihe  many  elegant  ones 
that  have  been  erected  in  the  last  few 
years  in  the  upper  part  of  the  city. 


172  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

George  Washington  worshipped  in  this 
church  in  his  day,  and  I  am  told  his 
initials  were  on  one  of  the  pews  when 
it  was  renovated  a  few  years  ago.  Old 
Trinity  was  demolished  a  great  many  years 
ago,  and  the  present  structure  erected  in 
its  stead.  It  is  useless  to  say  that  this 
building  is  simply  magnificent.  St.  John's 
is  the  third  which  constituted  what  was 
then  Trinity  Parish.  This  church  was 
erected  many  years  after  the  two  above- 
mentioned,  and  is  a  model  of  elegance  and 
beauty ;  and  may  they  all  stand  for  ages 
to  come  to  dispense  those  glorious  truths, 
which,  if  practised  and  believed,  will  lead 
us  all  to  immortality. 

CLERGYMEN,    ETC. 

I  am  now  going  to  allude  to  some  of 
my  favorite  clergymen,  and  I  will  here  re- 
mark, in  this  connection,  that  the  Bible  is 
my  usual  daily  companion.  In  its  teach- 
ings and  inspirations  I  am  a  firm  believer. 


N.    T.    HUBBAKD.  173 

At  the  Presbyterian  churches  I  attend 
regularly.  Yesterday,  March  22d,  1874,  I 
heard  Dr.  Taylor  in  the  morning.  He  took 
his  text  from  Daniel,  on  the  downfall  and 
death  of  Belshazzar,  at  the  great  feast  he 
gave  his  nobles  at  Babylon,  when  he  or- 
dered the  sacred  vessels  of  Jerusalem  to  be 
brought  to  him  to  add  to  the  orgies  and 
blasphemies  of  their  drunken  revels.  Dr. 
Taylor  drew  many  very  interesting  illus- 
trations from  his  subject  in  relation  to 
the  temperance  movements  now  pervading 
many  portions  of  our  country,  and  many 
of  his  remarks  were  not  only  sublime  and 
thrilling,  but  withal  very  dramatic  ;  in  fact 
it  was  a  regular  temperance  sermon,  and 
most  admirably  delivered.  In  the  after- 
noon I  went  to  hear  Dr.  Booth,  who  de- 
livered a  very  able  discourse  from  St. 
John's  gospel,  on  the  Buffering,  death,  and 
resurrection  of  our  Saviour.  May  17th, 
1874. — Yesterday  I  again  heard  Dr.  Tay- 
lor, who,  to  my  mind,  is  one  of  the  most 


174  ATJTOBIOGEAPHY    OF 

interesting  and  eloquent  of  our  divines. 
His  text  was,  "  What  think  ye  of  Christ?  " 
After  a  few  preliminary  remarks  he  di- 
vided his  discourse  into  four  divisions 
First,  those  who  believe  Christ  to  be  an 
impostor ;  second,  those  who  believe  Him 
to  be  a  harmless,  zealous  individual ;  third, 
those  who  believe  Him  inspired  with  mir- 
aculous powers  of  doing  good  to  his  fel- 
low-men, wlio  disbelieve  in  His  divine  at- 
tributes with  the  Deity  as  being  the  Son 
of  God;  fourth,  His  logical  and  eloquent 
interpretation  of  the  Scriptures,  in  which 
he  proves  conclusively  the  Trinity  of  the 
God-head — Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost. 
It  was  truly  a  splendid  exposition  of  Bible 
history,  and  must  have  carried  conviction 
to  every  hearer.  In  the  afternoon  I  at- 
tended my  old  Church,  corner  of  Tenth 
Street  and  University  Place,  again  to  hear 
Dr.  Booth,  who  gave  his  congregation  a 
very  interesting  discourse,  in  which  he  re- 
marked that  that  day  twenty  years  ago  he 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  175 

preached  his  first  sermon  in  Auburn  State 
Prison  to  a  very  different  audience  from 
the  one  he  was  then  addressing. 

May  24,  1874. — Since  making  a  few  re- 
marks upon  Mr.  Beecher  I  have  heard  him 
preach.  I  went  to  his  church  yesterday. 
He  took  for  his  text  the  eighth  verse  of  the 
second  chapter  of  Paul's  epistle  to  the  Ephe- 
sians:  "By  grace  are  ye  saved,  through 
faith ;  and  that  not  of  yourselves,  it  is  the 
gift  of  God."  It  was  certainly  the  most  logi- 
cal sermon  I  ever  heard,  and  many  portions 
of  it  were  beautifully  illustrated.  He  has  a 
very  fine  voice  and  distinct  delivery,  for 
there  was  scarcely  a  word  I  did  not  hear. 
To  say  I  was  pleased  would  scarcely  con- 
vey my  impressions ;  I  was  delighted.  But, 
notwithstanding  the  pleasure  derived  from 
his  discourse,  honest  opinion  compels  me 
to  say  that  there  are  several  clergymen  of 
this  city  whose  ministrations  I  should  pre 
fer  to  attend  regularly  than  those  of  Mr. 
Beecher. 


176  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

In  this  connection  it  has  this  moment 
occurred  to  me  to  speak  of  a  celebrated  di- 
vine, Rev.  Dr.  Learned,  who  visited  this  city 
some  fifty  years  ago.  He  was  from  New 
Orleans,  where  he  was  settled  over  a  Pres- 
byterian church,  and  was  idolized  by  his 
congregation.  He  was  a  young  man  of 
some  twenty-six  or  twenty-eight  years  of 
age.  During  his  visit  here  I  heard  him 
preach  twice,  once  in  Rutgers  Street  Church 
and  again  in  Garden  Street  Church.  In 
the  latter  his  discourse  was  on  the  death 
and  sufferings  of  our  Saviour.  It  was, 
without  any  exception,  the  most  brilliant 
piece  of  oratory  I  ever  heard  from  mortal 
lips.  He  actually  seemed  inspired  with  a 
prophetic  magical  influence  that  caused  the 
tears  to  flow  "  from  eyes  unused  to  weep." 
His  glowing  and  beautiful  description  of 
the  sufferings  and  death  of  our  Saviour,  in 
language  unsurpassed  by  its  diction  and 
beauty,  together  with  the  magical  tone  of 
his  voice,  conspired  to  render  it  the  most 


N.  T.    HUBBAED.  177 

beautiful  display  of  pulpit  oratory  I  ever 
heard.  His  next  discourse  was  in  Rutgers 
Street  Church,  directed  more  particularly 
to  the  younger  portion  of  the  congregation. 
I  have  had  the  four  last  words  of  that  ser- 
mon impressed  on  my  memory  ever  since, 
namely,  "  Go  if  you  dare."  There  is  a  vol- 
ume of  meaning  in  those  words  as  con- 
nected with  his  discourse.  He  possessed 
another  remarkable  trait ;  his  memory  was 
wonderful.  The  moment  he  took  his  text 
he  closed  the  book,  with  no  scrap  of  paper 
to  indicate  even  the  heads  of  his  discourse. 
I  will  relate  the  following  anecdote  in  illus- 
tration of  these  facts,  as  well  as  the  won- 
derful influence  he  possessed  in  his  delivery. 
While  visiting  some  portion  of  the  South, 
he  was  invited  to  preach  for  one  of  his 
clerical  friends.  On  their  way  to  the 
church  his  friend  handed  him  a  note  which 
he  asked  him  to  read  to  the  congregation 
at  the  close  of  the  service.  He  ran  his 
eyes  over  the  note,  and  placed  it  in  his 


178  AUTOBIOGKAPIIY    OF 

pocket.  At  the  close  of  the  service  he  re- 
peated the  contents  of  the  note  to  the  con- 
gregation. On  his  return  home  with  his 
friend  after  church  he  said  to  him,  "I  must 
compliment  you  on  the  beautiful  manner 
and  style  in  which  you  announced  the  prin- 
cipal contents  of  the  note  I  gave  you.  I 
should  feel  very  proud  could  I  have  dic- 
tated so  beautiful  an  address  as  you  substi- 
tuted for  mine."  At  these  remarks  Dr. 
Learned  turned  to  his  friend  and  said,  "  In 
giving  out  your  notice  to  your  congregation 
I  neither  added  to,  nor  subtracted  a  single 
word  from  the  original  you  gave  me."  His 
friend  could  scarcely  believe  the  fact.  This 
goes  to  prove  the  wonderful  power  a  culti- 
vated and  beautiful  voice  may  have  over 
an  ordinary  communication.  This  young 
clergyman  died  in  New  Orleans,  two  years 
after  his  return,  of  yellow  fever. 

In  connection  with  the  above  little  his- 
tory there  was  another  young  clergyman 
of  the  Methodist  denomination  who  visited 


N.  T.    IIUBBAED.  179 

this  country  from  England  shortly  before, 
or  a  year  or  two  later,  named  Somerville, 
scarcely  twenty -one  years  of  age,  who  cre- 
ated a  great  sensation.  He  was  a  fluent 
and  beautiful  speaker,  with  a  countenance 
more  like  that  of  a  girl  than  a  man.  He  at- 
tracted large  audiences  from  every  denomi- 
nation, and  was  constantly  invited  to  preach 
in  their  different  pulpits.  He  delivered  one 
sermon  in  the  Old  North  Dutch  Church 
(now  used  for  our  Post-Office)  on  a  week 
day.  I  went  there  to  hear  him  and  found  the 
church  so  crowded  that  I  could  not  obtain 
even  standing-room.  His  popularity  wag 
immense,  and  he  created  a  great  reforma- 
tion in  the  Methodist  churches,  particu- 
larly with  some  of  his  fellow-clergymen, 
who,  previous  to  his  advent  here,  had  been 
in  the  habit  of  exciting  themselves  in  the 
pulpit  and  fairly  screaming  to  their  hearers 
and  exciting  them  also  to  loud  Amens,  etc., 
and  even  disturbing  the  more  quiet  portion 
of  the  congregation.  Those  sensational 


180  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

preachers,  who  bellowed  from  their  pulpits, 
miscalled  it  conversion-preaching;  but  the 
calm  and  beautiful  discourses  from  the 
pure  lips  of  Soinerville  soon  had  the  de- 
sired effect  of  banishing  from  the  Method- 
ist pulpit  the  noisy  preachers  of  that  day. 
My  memory  does  not  serve  me  to  say  how 
long  he  remained  in  this  city,  but  I  believe 
about  two  years,  and  since  his  return  to 
England  I  have  no  recollections  of  his 
after-life  to  record. 

DRS.    WAINWRIGHT    AND    POTTS. 

In  my  previous  remarks  I  have  men- 
tioned the  names  of  Bishop  Wainwright  and 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Potts.  It  may  be  remembered 
by  some  of  our  citizens  that  these  two  dis- 
tinguished clergymen  had  a  spirited  news- 
paper discussion  many  years  ago,  Bishop 
Wainwright  maintaining  "  that  there  could 
not  be  a  church  without  a  bishop,"  and  Dr. 
Potts  arguing  in  opposition.  I  have  said 
that  Dr.  Wainwright  was  an  enthusiastic  ad- 


N.  T.    HUBBAED.  181 

mirer  of  music  ;  Dr.  Potts  Avas  equally  so. 
He  invariably  sang  with  the  choir  of  his 
church,  and  had  a  very  fine  tenor  voice.  It 
was  on  his  ministrations  that  myself  and 
family  attended  during  my  residence  on 
Washington  Square.  He  married  two  of  my 
youngest  daughters,  and  he  occasionally 
dropped  in  at  my  musical  entertainments. 
In  short,  he  was  a  most  agreeable  compan- 
ion. My  family  and  his  were  quite  inti- 
mate. 

REV.    DR.    HALL. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Hall  has  been  with  us  so 
long  that  we  may  claim  him  as  one  of  our 
own  people.  His  name  and  fame  have  be- 
come household  words  with  us.  Probably 
no  clergyman  who  ever  visited  this  country 
from  the  Old  World  has  acquired  so  great 
a  popularity  in  so  short  a  period  of  time  as 
Dr.  Hall  has.  He  appears  to  have  identified 
himself  with  every  good  work.  At  all  the 
charitable  gatherings  he  has  been  a  prompt 
and  willing  advocate,  and  his  addresses 


182  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

before  the  different  charitable  societies 
of  this  city  have  had  a  great  effect.  There 
are  few  men  who  can  give  a  telling  speech 
on  charity,  but  Dr.  Hall  appears  to  me  to 
be  most  thoroughly  qualified.  May  he  long 
continue  to  be  a  blessing,  not  only  to  his 
large  and  devoted  congregation,  but  also  to 
the  cause  of  charity  and  benevolence,  as 
well  as  an  illustration  of  all  the  Christian 
graces  that  adorn  our  humanity. 

I  often  think  of  the  thousands  and  tens 
of  -thousands  who  daily  pass  the  grounds 
of  Trinity  and  St.  Paul's,  if  they  ever  give 
a  thought  to  the  thousands  that  lie  beneath 
the  sod.  I  fear  not.  The  great  mass,  in 
passing  and  repassing,  have  their  minds  too 
much  occupied  with  their  different  avoca- 
tions to  think,  for  a  moment,  that  in  a  lit- 
tle while  they  must  lay  their  bodies  down 
to  sleep,  the  same  as  those  who  now  sleep 
there.  Most  of  the  old  influential  citizens 
of  this  city,  fifty  or  sixty  years  ago,  are 
there ;  a  vast  number  of  my  old  personal 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  183 

friends  lie  there — the  young  and  the  old. 
Here  rest  the  remains  of  some  of  our  great 
heroes — Decatur,  Lawrence,  Kearney,  and 
others — and  at  the  end  may  they  all  awake 
to  a  bright  resurrection  beyond  the  grave, 
to  meet  the  heavenly  hosts  in  everlasting 
glory ! 

HEXRY    WARD    BEECIIER. 

September  21st. — While  on  'Change  to- 
day I  was  called  upon  by  one  of  our  old  and 
respected  merchants  to  sign  a  document 
signifying  our  belief  as  to  the  purity  and 
innocence  of  Mr.  Beecher.  The  scandalous 
charges  that  have  been  circulated  against 
this  eminent  man  have  filled  niy  heart  with 
sorrow.  I  signed  the  paper  cheerfully,  for 
I  most  honestly  believe  him  guiltless  of 
the  foul  charges  preferred  against  him. 
The  conspiracy  to  ruin  him  has  been  con- 
cocted by  a  set  of  villains  as  base  as  ever 
trod  this  footstool  of  God,  and  they  richly 
deserve  the  execrations  of  all  mankind.  I 


184  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

am  not  personally  acquainted  with  Mr. 
Beecher,  but  he  has  been  so  long  in  this 
community  that  his  name  has  become  a 
household  word.  His  brilliant  and  beauti- 
ful discourses,  with  that  ready  display  of 
oratory  that  he  commands,  will  live  in  the 
hearts  of  many  when  he  is  gone. 


X.    T.    HUBBARD.  185 


CHAPTER  XX. 

WILLIAM     B.     COZZENS. 

THERE  never  was  in  this  country  a  more 
popular  landlord  than  Mr.  William  B.  Coz- 
zens.  He  was  admired  and  respected 
throughout  our  whole  country,  for  every- 
body knew  him.  His  elegant  hotel  at 
West  Point  is  a  model  of  everything  that 
is  beautiful.  His  tables  were  loaded  with 
every  delicacy  known;  and  probably  no 
hotel  in  this  country  was  as  much  noted 
for  its  wines  and  liquors  as  his.  He  was 
particularly  celebrated  in  his  choice  selec- 
tion of  wines,  and  he  was  considered  a  su- 
perior judge.  I  never  spent  my  time  more 
pleasantly  than  when  at  West  Point.  Mr. 


186  AUTOBIOGKAPHY    OF 

Cozzens,*  for  many  years,  was  the  proprie- 
tor of  the  American  Hotel,  on  the  corner 
of  Broadway  and  Barclay  Street,  and  his 
house  ranked  as  high  as  any  in  the  city. 
And  I  beg  here  to  remark  that,  during  the 
time  Mr.  Cozzens  kept  the  American  Hotel, 
a  few  musical  gentlemen  formed  a  club 
composed  mainly  of  amateurs,  but  includ- 
ing a  few  professional  gentlemen,  promi- 
nent among  whom  were  Charles  E.  Horn 
and  son.  This  society  was  formed  from 
three  or  four  of  our  old  Glee  Club,  and 


*  I  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Cozzens  early  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  present  century,  and  our  mutual  friendship  con- 
tinued to  the  end  of  his  life.  I  was  about  two  years  the 
senior  of  Mr.  Cozzens.  In  his  earlier  days  he  was  a  clerk  in 
his  uncle's  employ.  His  uncle,  Mr.  Martlin,  kept  the  Tam- 
inany  Wigwam  (then  so  called),  on  the  corner  of  Frankfort 
and  Spruce  Streets.  It  was  a  public-house,  and  became 
prominent  as  being  the  headquarters  of  the  Tammany  So- 
ciety. It  was  there  I  became  intimately  acquainted  with 
him.  After  the  death  of  Mr.  Martlin,  Mr.  Cozzens  succeeded 
to  the  management  of  the  establishment.  He  afterwards 
became  the  proprietor  of  Tammany  Hall,  which  was  erected 
on  the  corner  of  Chatham  and  Frankfort  Streets. 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  187 

called  "The  Beefsteak  Club."  We  as- 
sembled once  a  mouth,  partaking  of  a  sup- 
per in  Cozzens'  best  style,  and  spending  the 
evening  in  listening  to  songs  and  glees,  in- 
terrupted with  recitations  and  stories,  form- 
ing altogether  a  most  delightful  evening's 
entertainment.  We  frequently  had  the 
company  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wainwright  at 
these  sociables.  I  scarcely  ever  knew  a 
man  more  extravagantly  fond  of  music 
than  the  Doctor.  If  my  memory  serves 
me,  these  musical  entertainments  continued 
for  about  three  years. 

While  at  West  Point,  Mr.  Cozzens  was 
in  the  habit  of  visiting  the  city  twice  in  the 
week  to  procure  for  his  tables  the  best  and 
greatest  delicacies  that  our  markets  af- 
forded, and  it  was  on  one  of  these  visits 
that  he  was  suddenly  stricken  down  with 
apoplexy  and  died.  Since  that  time  his 
sons  have  continued  the  house,  with  credit 
to  themselves  and  satisfaction  to  all  their 
visitors. 


188  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

But  now  comes  an  episode  in  my  life, 
which  happened  at  this  hotel,  that  brings 
the  tears  to  my  eyes.  The  joy,  the  pride, 
the  life  and  light  of  my  heart,  died  there. 
I  cannot  enter  into  the  details  of  her  death. 
When  I  remember  her,  with  that  gentle- 
ness of  character  and  purity  of  mind,  (I 
am  so  sad)  I  feel  myself  unprepared  to 
speak  of  her  splendid  qualities  and  attain- 
ments. I  can,  at  times,  hear  her  voice  ring- 
ing in  my  ears  with  those  melodious  notes 
that  will  last  with  me  while  I  exist — 

The  good  die  first, 

But  those  whose  hearts  are  like  the  summer  dust 

Burn  to  the  socket. 

WILLIAM    B.    NIBLO. 

Many  years  ago  Mr.  William  B.  Niblo 
kept  a  public-house  on  the  corner  of  Pine 
and  William  Streets,  where  he  did  a  profit- 
able business.  He  eventually  removed,  and 
leased  the  property  on  the  corner  of  Broad- 
way and  Prince  Street  for  a  number  of 


N.    T.    HUBBABD.  189 

years.  He  erected  a  very  pretty  theatre 
on  these  grounds,  and,  in  connection  with 
the  garden  he  had  established  there,  ren- 
dered it  the  most  pleasant  resort  in  the 
city.  Mr.  Niblo,  in  connection  with  the 
Ravel  family,  will  long  be  remembered. 
This  troupe  drew  nightly  to  the  theatre 
immense  audiences,  and  Mr.  Niblo  made  a 
fortune  from  their  engagement.  This  cele- 
brated company  of  artistes  were  known 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
land.  Scarcely  a  stranger  visited  the  city 
but  went  to  Niblo's  to  witness  their  won- 
derful performances.  Their  pantomime 
plays  were  innocent,  and  not  only  delighted 
and  pleased  the  child,  but  the  gray -headed 
veteran  of  fourscore  sat  entranced  at  their 
magical  power.  And  for  myself,  I  must 
say  I  never  retired  from  one  of  their  per- 
formances without  having  enjoyed  the  ut- 
most pleasure  and  delight. 

Some  years  since  the  Italian  opera  was 
given  at  Niblo's  with  great  success  by  the 


190  AUTOBIOGRAPHY   OF 

Sontag  troupe  during  their  visit  to  this 
city  many  years  ago.  Sontag  was  an  artiste 
of  the  first  grade,  but  she  had  seen  her 
best  days  as  a  vocalist.  This  lady  was 
celebrated  for  the  magnificent  manner  in 
which  she  dressed  for  the  stage.  I  recol- 
lect attending  one  evening  at  Niblo's  to 
hear  "  Norma "  sung  by  Sontag,  but 
was  somewhat  disappointed.  It  is  well 
known  to  professional  artistes  that  the 
role  of  Norma  requires  a  mezzo-sopra- 
no voice  to  do  justice  to  it,  whereas  it 
was  well  known  that  Madame  Sontag's 
voice  was  in  the  highest  register  of  a 
soprano ;  hence  she  totally  failed  in  at- 
tempting the  role  of  Norma.  Sontag  was 
well  qualified  to  sing  in  light  opera,  and 
give  perfect  satisfaction;  and  it  is  truly 
wonderful  to  my  mind  that  a  good  artiste 
with  an  established  reputation  should  be 
willing  to  run  the  risk  of  losing  it  by 
undertaking  a  role  so  much  above  her 
powers  to  perform. 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  191 

Mr.  Niblo  retired  many  years  ago  with 
a  large  fortune.  Since  then  he  has  spent 
much  of  his  time  and  money  in  collecting 
a  gallery  of  paintings  which  is  said  to  be 
one  of  the  finest  in  the  city.  With  Mr. 
ISTiblo  I  have  had  a  life-long  acquaintance, 
and  a  more  estimable  gentleman  I  never 
knew. 


192       '  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 


CHAPTER  XXI 

MY    PERSONAL    FRIEND,  N.  H.  WOLFE. 

MY  dear  friend,  Mr.  Nathaniel  H.  Wolfe, 
was  a  man  with  whom  I  was  intimately 
acquainted,  although  in  our  business  rela- 
tions we  were  virtually  separated,  his  busi- 
ness being  in  the  grain  trade,  while  mine 
was  principally  in  provisions.  Mr.  Wolfe 
was  a  gentleman  whom  everybody  esteemed. 
His  nature  was  so  genial  and  so  social  that, 
indeed,  no  one  could  but  admire  him.  He 
had  some  peculiarities  in  his  intercourse 
with  his  friends  that  rather  enhanced  than 
deteriorated  from  the  pleasure  of  his  con- 
versation. He  rationally  enjoyed  life,  and 
was  popular  with  every  one.  He  was,  like 
myself,  very  fond  of  the  opera,  and  was  a 
regular  attendant  at  the  performances.  He 


1ST.    T.    HUBBARD.  193 

had  one  of  the  large  stage-boxes  at  the 
Academy  of  Music,  and  was  treasurer  of 
that  concern  for  several  years.  In  later 
years,  when  I  attended  the  opera,  I  took 
my  seat  in  his  box,  when  alone,  by  his 
special  invitation.  Mr.  Wolfe  was  usually 
successful  in  his  business  transactions,  and 
left  his  family  in  very  affluent  circum- 
stances. At  the  time  of  his  decease  I  was 
confined  to  my  house  by  a  painful  disease, 
and  was  unable  to  attend  the  funeral  of 
my  departed  friend.  He  died  regretted  by 
all  who  knew  him. 

SUYDAM,    SAGE    &    CO. 

With  the  old  firm  of  Suydam,  Sage  &> 
Co.  T  was  on  the  most  intimate  terms,  and 
with  Mr.  Suydam  my  relations  were  of 
the  most  sacred  and  confidential  nature. 
This  house  was  our  backer  for  any  amount 
of  money  we  might  occasionally  require  in 
our  large  business  operations,  and,  in  re- 
turn, we  were  their  endorsers  for  any  amount 


194  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

• 

they  might  require  from  time  to  time. 
The  Wall  Street  banks  required  no  better 
paper,  for  it  was  well  known  to  the  mer- 
cantile \vorld  generally,  that  the  former 
house  was  wealthy,  and  that  my  own  had 
established  a  credit  scarcely  inferior  to 
other  houses  of  established  means.  This 
confidence  in  each  other  was  never  betrayed 
by  either  of  our  houses,  which  continued 
until  the  withdrawal  of  Mr.  Ferdinand 
Suydam  from  the  old  house  of  which  he 
was  the  head.  Our  mutual  friendship  con- 
tinued to  the  end  of  his  life. 

CLAGHORN  &  CUNNINGHAM,  OF  SAVANNAH. 

These  gentlemen,  with  whom  I  have  been 
so  long  associated,  deserve  more  than  a  pass- 
ing notice,  they  being  the  oldest  living 
firm  on  my  books  ;  and  our  constant  inter- 
course has  been  of  the  most  pleasant  and 
agreeable  character,  which  has  ripened  into 
a  mutual  friendship  that  can  only  cease 
when  I  am  gone.  The  old  firm  was  Claghorn 


N.    T.    HUBBARB.  195 

&  Wood ;  they  are  both  dead,  and  the  son 
of  Mr.  Claghorn  associated  with  him  Mr. 
Cunningham.  The  standing  and  character 
of  this  firm,  in  its  mercantile  relations, 
ranks  as  high  in  the  estimation  of  their 
fellow-citizens,  for  probity,  honesty,  and  in- 
dustry, as  that  of  any  house  in  this  country. 

WILLIAM    P.  WINCHESTER. 

I  cannot  omit  in  this  little  history  to 
make-  mention  of  those  personal  friends 
with  whom  I  have  been  so  long  associated, 
socially  as  well  as  in  mercantile  transac- 
tions. 

In  speaking  of  William  P.  Winchester, 
of  Boston,  I  am  at  a  loss  for  words  to  con- 
vey the  regard  I  had  for  him.  If  ever  a 
man  lived  who  deserved  the  title  of  "na- 
ture's nobleman "  it  was  William  P.  Win- 
chester. My  relations  with  him  in  busi- 
ness affairs,  as  well  as  socially,  leave  upon 
my  mind  recollections  that  never  can  be 
obliterated  while  I  exist.  During  our  in- 


196  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

tercourse  we  had  large  transactions  in  busi- 
ness matters,  and  when  I  recall  him,  even 
now,  to  my  memory,  I  often  wish  that 
many  others  had  possessed  his  noble  and 
elegant  character.  It  was  a  pleasure  to 
transact  business  with  him,  and  during  our 
large  transactions,  nothing  ever  occurred  to 
mar  the  friendship  and  regard  we  mutually 
entertained  for  each  other.  I  was  fre- 
quently called  to  Boston  on  business,  and 
although  the  Tremont  House  was  my  home 
while  there,  I  was  invariably  the  recipi- 
ent of  his  hospitality.  Mr.  Winchester's 
country  seat  was  a  short  distance  from 
Boston,  on  the  Charles  River,  and,  truly,  a 
princely  place  it  was.  I  attended,  many 
years  ago,  on  the  4th  of  July,  a  fete-cliam- 
petre  given  by  him  at  this  place,  and  the  en- 
tertainment was  in  keeping  with  the  man. 
I  never  attended  so  elegant  an  affair.  In 
less  than  a  month  after  this  fete  was  given 
he  was  carried  to  his  vault  at  Mount  Au- 
burn. 


N.    T.    IIUBBAED.     *•  197 

'(  He  was  a  man. 
Take  him  for  all  in  all 
I  ne'er  shall  look  upon  his  like  again." 

JOIIJST   S1MOXDS. 

With  this  gentleman  I  had  large  busi- 
ness transactions,  and  a  more  agreeable 
and  pleasant  gentleman  to  transact  busi- 
ness with  I  never  met.  Our  intercourse 
lasted  for  many  years,  and  nothing  ever 
happened  to  mar  the  feelings  we  mutually 
entertained  for  each  other.  Mr.  Simonds 
was  largely  engaged  in  the  packing  of 
beef;  his  large  establishment  was  on  Lake 
Chaniplain.  Our  business  connection  lasted 
many  years,  and  was  profitable  to  both  of 
us ;  and  during  this  long  connection,  as  be- 
fore mentioned,  not  a  jar  ever  disturbed 
the  even  tenor  of  our  ways.  Mr.  Simonds 
was,  in  every  sense,  a  gentleman,  kind  and 
benevolent  in  his  nature,  and  a  trusty  friend 
to  all  who  knew  him.  The  more  I  became 
acquainted  with  him,  the  more  I  admired 


198  ^AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

his  character.  Mr.  Simonds  died  many 
years  ago.  It  gives  me  pleasure  to  pay 
this  brief  tribute  to  his  memory. 

S.    DAVIS,  JR.,    &    CO.,    OF    CINCINNATI. 

With  this  highly  respectable  concern,  for 
many  years  past,  I  have  done  an  extensive 
business.  I  was  the  first  person  who  intro- 
duced their  celebrated  "diamond  hams" 
into  this  market.  I  have  sold  many  thou- 
sand tierces  of  them.  This  firm  is  one  of 
the  most  respectable  and  wealthy  in  that 
city.  They  have  done  a  large  business  with 
the  principal  dealers  in  the  United  States, 
I  owe  them  many  obligations  for  favors 
they  have  conferred  on  me,  for  which  I 
return  them  my  most  grateful  thanks. 

ISAAC    H.    REED. 

Of  this  gentleman,  to  whom  I  have  dedi- 
cated my  book,  I  have  more  than  a  passing 
word  to  say.  I  became  acquainted  with 
Mr.  Reed  many  years  ago,  and  our  inter- 


N.    T.    HITBBABD.      *  190 

course  has  been  such  that  warrants  me  in 
saying  I  have  never  met  a  more  perfect 
and  dignified  gentleman. 

I  have  watched  the  career  of  this  gen- 
tleman almost  from  his  boyhood,  and  the 
character  and  culture  he  possesses  entitle 
him  to  the  respect  of  every  one. 

I  have  dedicated  this  book  to  him. (with 
his  permission),  appreciating  as  I  do  the 
high  sense  of  his  character. 

DR.    ANDREWS. 

Since  my  residing  at  the  Washington 
Hotel,  I  have  become  intimately  acquainted 
with  Dr.  Andrews,  who  has  been  a  boarder 
at  this  hotel  for  twenty -five  years,  and  dur- 
ing my  sickness  of  the  last  few  mouths  he 
has  been  my  daily  attending  physician,  and 
a  more  agreeable  and  courteous  gentleman 
I  have  never  met;  in  short,  we  have  be- 
come most  intimate  friends.  The  doctor  is 
rated  among  our  ablest  physicians.  He 
has  an  established  reputation,  and  I  esteem 


200  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

it  a  privilege  to  have  made  liis  acquaint 
ance.  I  have  every  faith  in  his  skill,  and 
trust  he  may  long  live  to  be  a  benefit  and 
blessing  to  his  fellow-men. 

JAMES    LENOX. 

I  now  wish  to  speak  of  one  of  the 
greatest  philanthropists  of  the  age.  I 
allude  to  Mr.  James  Lenox,  the  only  son  of 
Robert  Lenox,  deceased.  I  was  intimately 
acquainted  with  Mr.  Robert  Lenox,  and  had 
business  transactions  with  him  for  a  number 
of  years,  but  I  have  never  met  his  son.  Not- 
withstanding that  I  never  had  the  pleasure 
of  his  acquaintance,  his  wide-world  reputa- 
tion as  a  Christian  philanthropist  has  been 
as  familiar  to  my  ears  as  if  I  had  person- 
ally known  him  for  years.  I  have  been 
told  that  for  many  years  past  he  has  given 
away  his  annual  income  from  his  large 
estate,  principally  to  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  of  which  he  is  a  member,  and  to 
the  charitable  institutions  connected  there- 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  201 

with,  as  well  as  to  other  objects  of  charity. 
He  is  at  tlie  present  time  president  of  the 
American  Bible  Society,  and  has  been  for 
many  years  the  ruling  elder  in  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  corner  of  Twelfth  Street 
and  Fifth  Avenue,  of  which  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Paxon  is  pastor,  formerly  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Phillips.  Mr.  Lenox  is  now  completing  a 
splendid  monument  to  his  own  memory, 
namely — the  Lenox  Library.  It  is  situated 
on  Fifth  Avenue,  opposite  Central  Park, 
and  occupies  the  entire  front  of  one  block, 
and  is  the  most  massive  built  building  in 
this  city,  being  entirely  fire-proof.  This 
building  will  carry  his  name  and  Christian 
liberality  down  to  many  future  generations. 
He  has  been  for  many  years  accumulating 
a  large  library,  and  it  is  said  he  has  now 
more  editions  of  the  Bible,  in  different  lan- 
guages, than  any  other  library  in  this  coun- 
try ;  and  there  is  no  doubt,  when  his  library 
is  opened  to  the  public,  it  will  be  found  to 
contain  many  of  the  most  celebrated  pro- 
ductions of  the  world. 
9* 


202  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


IN  the  olden  times  Burnham's  was  the 
celebrated  stopping-place  when  driving  out 
on  the  old  Bloomingdale  Road.  Of  a  fine 
afternoon  in  summer  or  winter,  his  horse- 
sheds  surrounding  the  house  were  filled 
with  the  fashionable  equipages  of  the  day. 
In  the  rear  grounds  there  were  magnificent 
views  of  the  river.  As  a  general  rule, 
Burnham's  was  considered  the  end  of  a 
drive  out  of  the  city.  But  what  has  time 
done?  This  very  spot  that  was  devoted, 
in  years  gone  by,  to  those  social  enjoy- 
ments, exists  no  longer.  The  rapid  strides 
our  city  has  made  within  the  past  twenty- 
five  years,  has  broken  the  charms  of  these 
old  landmarks.  This  very  spot  (Burn- 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  203 

haul's)  that  had  attractions  in  iny  middle 
life,  is  now  no  more.  Brick  and  brown- 
stone  have  taken  the  place  it  once  occupied. 

AN    EXPLANATION. 

September  4th. — In  casting  over  the 
various  subjects  treated  on  in  these  papers, 
including  something  of  my  history,  in  con- 
nection with  recollections  and  events  that 
have  transpired  in  this  city  from  1798  to 
1832,  I  am  well  aware  there  are  many 
events  that  have  occurred  during  this 
period  that  have  escaped  my  recollection; 
but  what  I  have  written  are  truthful 
statements,  and  what  I  have  said  has  been 
done  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  and  in  lan- 
guage so  plain  that  a  child  can  read  it. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  I  have  no  apology  to 
offer  for  its  composition,  for  in  the  very 
commencement  of  these  papers  I  positively 
disclaimed  any  pretension  to  literary  merit, 
but  it  is  just  what  I  intended  it  to  be — a 
plain  statement  of  plain  facts.  I  have 


204  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

many  and  long-tried  friends  in  this  city 
who  will  overlook  the  many  faults  which 
this  book  contains.  These  papers  were 
commenced  the  first  of  last  March,  (1874,) 
and  have  been  continued  from  day  to  day, 
with  the  exception  only  when  I  felt  unwell 
and  disqualified  to  proceed  with  them ;  for 
there  are  times  when  the  mind  wanders 
from  its  subject,  in  which  case  it  is  impos- 
sible to  write  satisfactorily.  Then,  again, 
an  inspiration  will  flash  across  the  mind, 
and  you  can  then  convey  your  thoughts 
with  ease  and  pleasure,  without  racking  the 
brain  to  convey  it  in  language  just  suited 
to  the  occasion.  I  beg  here  to  remark  that, 
previous  to  my  commencing  these  papers, 
all  my  previous  writings  were  with  my 
business  correspondents,  and  private  let- 
ters to  my  relatives  and  friends.  I  had 
neither  time  nor  disposition  for  any  other 
writing.  It  only  occurred  to  me  seven 
months  ago  of  writing  a  short  history,  and 
that  idea  was  only  thought  of  as  giving  my 


N.    T.    IIUBBARD.  205 

mind  employment,  for  my  business  had 
nearly  left  me  nothing  to  do, — and  I  must 
be  busy  about  something. 

I  beg  here  to  remark  that  I  have  been 
very  much  afflicted  with  a  most  pain- 
ful complaint  during  the  writing  of  these 
papers,  not  debarring  me  from  visiting  the 
Exchange  and  my  office,  but  rendering 
me  unable  to  attend  church  on  Sundays, 
which  is  a  great  misfortune  for  me,  having 
been  brought  up  from  my  early  boyhood 
in  its  teachings.  I  became  very  much  at- 
tached to  its  Christian  institutions,  and  a 
firm  believer  in  its  doctrines ;  but  my  Sun- 
days now  are  all  passed  at  home.  In  several 
of  my  earlier  papers  I  gave  some  interesting 
accounts  of  the  Italian  Opera  in  this  city, 
for  I  was  a  most  enthusiastic  admirer  and 
supporter  of  that  favorite  amusement, 
which  I  always  considered  a  moral  one ;  but 
my  present  age  and  infirmities  prevent  me 
from  attending  any  more  on  its  fascinat- 
ing enjoyments. 


206  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 


BROADWAY    AND    GRAND    STREET. 

On  the  north-east  corner  of  Broadway 
and  Grand  Street,  where  now  stands  the  im- 
mense store  formerly  occupied  by  Brooks 
Brothers,  stood  a  large-sized  wooden  build- 
ing, some  seventy  years  ago,  occupied  as 
a  house  of  entertainment,  and  in  the  rear 
was  a  high  hill  or  sand-bank  that  extended 
to  the  East  River.  Immediately  in  the 
rear  of  the  house,  and  on  this  hill,  was  an 
enclosure  fitted  with  seats  and  boxes  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  patrons  of  the 
house.  This  place  was  called  u  Bunker 
Hill,"  as  it  was  on  a  level  with  the  second 
or  third  story  of  the  house.  On  a  Sunday 
afternoon  or  a  holiday,  a  set  of  boys,  or 
half -grown  men,  myself  among  the  number, 
would  resort  there  to  drink  "  Mead."  The 
house  became  very  celebrated  for  this 
delightful  beverage.  I  have  frequently 
thought  that  this  simple  drink  has  been 
the  cause  of  saving  many  men  from  de- 


N.    T.    HUBBABD.  207 

struction.  I  have  not  seen  a  bottle  of  this 
"  mead "  for  many  years,  and  have  often 
wondered  at  its  banishment  from  general 
use.  The  old  Broadway  House  was  used, 
in  former  years,  as  a  gathering-place  for 
the  politicians  of  our  city,  and  when  nomi- 
nations were  made  for  future  elections. 
There  are  many  associations  connected  with 
this  house  as  a  rendezvous  for  other  pur- 
poses than  politics.  There  were  frequent 
advertisements  in  the  daily  papers  for 
meetings  there  for  various  objects,  which 
my  memory  of  fifty  or  sixty  years  ago  fails 
me  to  particularize. 

WASHINGTON    HOTEL,    NO.    1    BROADWAY. 

Myself  and  daughter  are  now  boarders 
at  this  hotel,  where  we  have  been,  at  the 
present  writing,  some  fourteen  months ;  and 
I  shall  probably  remain  here  during  the 
remainder  of  my  life,  for  I  am  better  suited 
and  accommodated  than  I  have  been  at 
any  time  since  I  broke  up  housekeeping. 


208  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

My  landlord,  Mr.  Dingley,  is  a  very  pleas- 
ant and  agreeable  gentleman,  and  does 
all  in  his  power  to  please  his  boarders. 
His  tables  are  well  supplied  with  all  the 
varieties  of  the  season,  hence  I  am  per- 
fectly satisfied.  Mr.  Dingley  is  an  Eastern 
man,  and  has  a  large  number  of  friends 
who  patronize  his  house.  He  is  doing  a 
prosperous  business,  and  I  consider  him 
justly  entitled  to  success  by  his  prompt  at- 
tention to  his  business,  as  well  as  promoting 
the  comfort  of  his  guests.  The  main  house, 
on  the  corner,  was  the  private  residence  of 
Mr.  Nathaniel  Prime,  the  senior  partner  of 
the  old  firm  of  Prime,  Ward,  King  <fe  Co. 
This  building  when  erected,  over  one  hun- 
dred years  ago,  was  the  most  noted  private 
dwelling  in  this  city.  The  ceilings  in  the 
parlors  are  as  lofty  as  those  of  many  of  the 
most  fashionable  houses  of  the  present  day. 
The  marble  mantels  were  imported  from  Eu- 
rope, and  the  large  mirrors  in  the  parlors  are 
as  large  and  lofty  as  those  we  meet  with  in 


N.    T.    HUBBAKD.  209 

our  first-class  residences.  The  location  of 
this  house  is  certainly  very  beautiful,  tak- 
ing in  the  whole  range  of  the  Battery  and 
the  harbor.  A  more  delightful  spot  cannot 
be  found  in  this  city. 

TRINITY    CHIMES. 

July  13th.— The  Trinity  chimes  this 
morning  advise  me  this  is  Sunday.  These 
chimes  I  have  been  in  the  habit  of  listening 
to  for  the  past  seventy -five  years.  They  are 
doubtless  the  best  bells  in  this  country,  and 
are  usually  played  by  first-class  artistes ; 
but  it  is  melancholy  to  reflect  on  the  num- 
ber of  death-knells  they  have  sounded 
during  the  past  seventy-five  years.  A  few 
more  short  years  or  days  of  pleasure  or 
pain  will  consign  the  present  generation  to 
their  final  resting-place,  and  God  grant  it 
may  prove  to  be  to  a  blessed  immortality 
beyond  the  grave ! 


210  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

BROOKLYN. 

AUGUST  31,  1874. — It  was  not  until  this 
morning,  in  casting  my  mind  over  for  a 
subject  to  note  down  in  this  history,  that  I 
observed  Brooklyn  had  escaped  my  recol- 
lection, and  strange  to  say,  Brooklyn,  in 
1798,  did  not  contain  one  hundred  houses 
from  the  Navy  Yard  to  the  South  Ferry.  It 
has  now  a  population  of  over  half  a  million 
of  souls ;  and,  in  honesty,  I  feel  bound  to 
acknowledge  my  almost  utter  ignorance  of 
its  history,  almost  as  much  so  as  if  I  should 
undertake  to  give  a  history  of  London  or 
Liverpool,  which  I  never  saw.  Brooklyn 
is  located  on  the  Island  of  my  birth,  but 
I  undertake  to  say  that  the  farthest  I 
have  travelled  back  in  Brooklyn  during 


N.    T.    HUBBAED.  211 

the  past  twenty-five  years  was  to  Green- 
wood Cemetery.  In  my  youthful  days, 
when  I  was,  say  from  seventeen  to  twenty 
years  of  age,  I  was  in  the  habit,  with  com- 
panions of  my  own  age,  of  occasionally 
visiting  Brooklyn  of  a  Sunday  afternoon, 
and  walking  up  from  the  ferry,  about  a 
mile  and  a  half,  to  the  sign  of  "the  "Black 
Horse,"  a  house  of  entertainment  for  man 
and  beast,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  partak- 
ing of  my  favorite  beverage  "  mead." 

HOBOKEJST. 

It  is  at  least  twenty-five  years  since  I  have 
visited  Hoboken.  In  former  days  I  was  a 
frequent  visitor  there,  and  there  are  many 
pleasing  recollections  associated  with  the 
place  that  render  it  interesting  to  me.  The 
Elysian  Fields  and  surroundings  was  a  spot 
made  classic  by  Halleck  the  poet.  It  was, 
in  former  days,  selected  by  the  duellists  as 
the  ground  on  which  to  settle  their  quarrels. 
It  was  the  spot  where  Aaron  Burr  shot 


212  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

Hamilton;  it  was  on  these  grounds  that 
the  son  of  the  latter  was  killed  by  hin  an- 
tagonist ;  the  name  of  the  latter  I  disre- 
m ember,  but  with  whom  I  was  previously 
acquainted.  To  return  to  more  pleasing 
recollections,  it  was  the  ground  on  which 
the  old  Green  Turtle  Club  held  their  semi- 
annual gatherings,  which  Mr.  Talman  pre- 
sided over,  and  superintended  the  prepara- 
tions of  the  feast.  It  was  pleasant  to 
wander  among  these  delightful  walks ;  in 
fact,  Hoboken  as  it  was  some  thirty  years 
ago,  was  one  of  the  most  pleasant  rambling 
places  in  the  vicinity  of  our  city. 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  213 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE    PAPERS    I    SUBSCRIBE    TO. 

I  HAVE  been,  for  a  very  long  time,  a  sub- 
scriber to'  the  New  York  Observer  and  the 
Home  Journal,  both  weekly  papers,  also  to 
the  evening  Commercial  Advertiser.  This 
paper  I  have  taken  for  over  fifty  years.  My 
old  friend,  Colonel  Stone,  was  the  senior 
editor  many  years  ago.  I  have  always 
esteemed  the  Commercial  as  the  most  reli- 
able of  all  our  evening  papers;  I  take 
great  pleasure  in  having  it  read  to  me. 
The  Observer  is  another  one  of  my  life-long 
papers ;  as  a  religious  sheet  there  is  noth- 
ing in  this  countiy  that  can  approach  it. 
It  is  conducted  by  gentlemen  of  marked 
ability,  and  has  had  an  immense  circula- 
tion throughout  the  country  for  years. 


214  AUTOmOGKAPHY    OF 

The  letters  of  "Irenseus"  are  perfect 
models  in  their  way,  and  to  me  it  is  a  per- 
fect delight  to  read  them.  As  before  re- 
marked, I  have  taken  the  Home  Journal 
since  it  was  first  established.  It  is  a  de- 
lightful paper  for  light  reading ;  it  gives 
its  readers  all  the  fashionable  news  of  the 
day,  and,  taken  altogether,  is  a  very  enjoy- 
able and  interesting  journal. 

THE  "LEDGER." 

In  regard  to  my  early  education,  I  Avould 
here  remark  that  the  schools  of  eighty  years 
ago  were  very  inferior.  The  common  rou- 
tine of  studies  were  reading,  spelling,  writ- 
ing and  arithmetic,  and  even  these  were 
very  imperfectly  taught.  I  lay  no  claim 
to  literary  merit,  but  I  was  always  very 
fond  of  reading,  and  that  fondness  still 
absorbs  my  leisure  hours ;  and,  as  my  eye- 
sight fails  me  in  my  old  age,  one  of  my 
daughters  reads  to  me  nightly.  My  favor- 
ite poetic  authors  are  Fitz-Greene  Halleck, 


IT.    T.    HUBBAKD.  215 

Sir  Walter  Scott,  "Wordsworth,  Pope,  and 
Cowper,  and  many  others  I  might  mention, 
that  I  am  not  so  familiar  with.  In  these 
rambling  sketches  I  nse  the  best  and 
plainest  language  I  am  capable  of,  and 
although  my  diction  is  at  fault  in  many 
instances,  I  know  my  old  friends  and  ac- 
quaintances will  relish  their  perusal,  not- 
withstanding that  Avant  of  polish  and  dic- 
tion which  so  charms  the  reader. 

I  have  taken  the  New  York  Ledger  since 
its  first  introduction,  and  I  esteem  it  one  of 
the  best  literary  papers  published  in  this 
country  that  I  have  any  knowledge  of.  The 
writers  and  correspondents  of  this  paper  are 
of  the  highest  order,  and  Mr.  Bonner,  the 
editor,  is  doubtless  very  proud  of  them,  al- 
though, it  is  said,  he  pays  them  more  money 
for  their  productions  than  any  other  weekly 
paper  in  the  United  States.  Of  course  I 
have  my  own  favorites ;  John  G.  Saxe,  the 
poetical  contributor,  is  a  great  favorite  of 
mine.  Sylvanus  Cobb,  Mrs.  Southworth, 


216  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

and  Mrs.  Harriet  Lewis  are  my  especial 
favorites  in  the  long  continued  stories.  In 
the  single  articles,  the  Rev.  Henry  Ward 
Beecher,  Rev.  Dr.  Hall,  Judge  Clark, 
and  James  Parton.  All  these  correspon- 
dents are  very  able  writers,  and  three  or 
four  of  them  stand  decidedly  at  the  head 
of  their  profession.  The  lady  writers  of 
single  articles  are  usually  very  good  and 
interesting;  but  the  Ledger  lost  a  great 
favorite  in  Fanny  Fern.  Her  articles  were 
so  terse  and  witty  they  commanded  the  uni- 
versal admiration  of  all  its  readers.  I  will 
now  allude  to  Professor  Leon  Lewis.  His 
stories  are  so  fiendishly  tragic,  as  a  general 
thing,  that  I  cannot  fail  to  believe  but  that 
they  are  manufactured  out  of  a  feverish 
brain.  The  characters  he  portrays  are 
totally  inconsistent  with  the  general  rules 
that  govern  even  outlaws  and  bravados; 
in  a  word,  his  characters  are  overdrawn, 
and  I  am  free  to  confess  I  take  very  little 
pleasure  in  their  perusal.  Far  be  it  from 


N.    T.    HUBBAKD.  217 

ine  to  deteriorate  from  his  literary  acquire- 
ments and  character  as  a  writer,  for  those 
are  of  the  first  order ;  and  were  he  to  deal 
with  less  brutal  and  inhuman  characters  he 
would  be  generally  read  with  much  more 
pleasure  and  satisfaction.  There  are  many 
beautiful  and  even  brilliant  passages  in 
many  of  his  stories  that  atone,  in  some 
measure,  for  the  other  characters  which  he 
represents.  I  have  no  pretension  as  a  critic, 
and  the  observations  I  have  made  on  the 
writers  of  the  Ledger  are  my  own,  and  may 
be  taken  by  the  public  for  what  they  are 
worth. 


218  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 


CHAPTER  XXV 

THE    THEATRE. 

IN  1798,  when  my  father  removed  to  this 
city,  there  was  but  one  theatre — the  old 
Park.  Mr.  Simpson  was  for  a  long  time 
the  manager,  and  was,  by  the  by,  a  very 
excellent  and  popular  comedian.  And 
while  on  this  subject  I  desire  to  say  that  I 
have  not  seen  or  attended  a  play  for  the 
past  thirty-five  years  of  my  life,  with  the 
exception  of  once.  Some  years  ago  I  was 
prevailed  upon  by  an  old  friend  who  was 
visiting  me,  to  accompany  him  to  Wai- 
lack's,  to  witness  a  celebrated  comedy.  I 
did  so,  and  wras  delighted. 

In  my  early  days  I  frequently  visited 
the  theatre,  and  saw  all  the  celebrated 
actors  and  actresses  of  the  day.  Fanny 


N.    T.    JTUBBARD.  219 

Kemble  probably  created  as  great  an  en- 
thusiasm as  any  actress  of  those  days.  It 
was  not  until  the  advent  of  Malibran,  in 
Italian  opera,  that  I  lost  all  taste  for 
plays — -for  my  very  soul  was  wrapped  in 
music — and  all  theatrical  performances 
were  of  but  little  interest  to  me. 

Alas  !  Alas  !  old  age,  with  some  of  its  in- 
firmities, are  crowding  on  me,  and  the^ecol- 
lections  of  the  pleasures  and  enjoyments  of 
niy  earlier  years  are  passing  swiftly  away, 
and  it  is  now  only  in  the  dim  retrospect  of 
the  past  that  I  can  now  and  then  discover 
a  bright  star  of  hope  that  points  to  a  blessed 
immortality  beyond  the  grave. 

RECREATION. 

July  14th. — We  are  now  in  the  middle 
of  summer,  when  it  is  generally  supposed 
the  more  fashionable  portion  of  our  citizens 
are  on  the  wing  visiting  the  various  fashion- 
able resorts  for  recreation  and  pleasure; 
and,  indeed,  they  must  be  fastidious  if  they 


220  AUTOBIOGRAPHY   OF 

cannot  find  some  spot  for  enjoyment.  As 
I  have  before  remarked,  for  thirty-five 
years  of  my  life  I  was  in  the  habit  of  visit- 
ing, with  my  family,  all  the  principal  re 
sorts  that  abound  at  the  north,  and  I  can 
say,  with  truth,  that  it  was  always  a 
season  of  pleasure  and  enjoyment  both  to 
myself  and  family,  and  better  prepared  me 
for  my  active  business  in  the  future.  But 
my  time  for  those  pleasures  have  passed 
away  forever.  Ninety  years  now  confine 
me  at  home,  and  increasing  debility  in- 
clines me  to  quiet  and  repose. 


T.    HUBBARD.  221 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

MY    BUST    ON   THE    EXCHANGE. 

MAISTY  years  ago  a  few  of  my  old  friends 
waited  upon  me,  arid  requested  me  (if  I 
had  no  objections)  to  sit  for  my  "bust,"  to 
be  placed  on  the  Exchange,  in  Wall  Street. 
I  assented  to  their  wishes,  and  the  "  bust " 
was  executed  by  a  Mr.  Jones,  who,  as  I  un- 
derstand, is  now  dead.  The  following  cor- 
respondence will  explain  itself  : — • 

To   ABRAM  S.  JEWELL,  ESQ., 

President  of  the  New  York  Produce 

Exchange. 

Dear  Sir, — About  twenty  years  ago  I  was  waited 
upon  by  several  of  my  friends  in  the  produce  busi- 
ness, requesting  me  to  "  sit "  to  a  sculptor  to  have  my 
"  bust "  modeled  in  clay,  to  which  I  consented.  After 
it  was  finished  there  were  some  twenty  or  thirty 
"  caots  "  of  it  modeled  in  plaster  of  Paris,  which  the 


222  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

sculptor  sold  for  his  own  benefit  at  ten  dollars  each. 
My  friends  then  concluded  to  have  one  executed  in 
marble,  which  was  accordingly  done.  The  cost  of  the 
original  in  clay  was  one  hundred  dollars,  and  the 
marble  one  four  hundred  dollars.  The  marble  "bust" 
was  on  exhibition  at  the  Exchange  (now  the  Custom 
House)  about  one  year.  The  Exchange  removed  to 
the  corner  of  Broad  and  South  Streets,  where  it  re- 
mained another  year,  when  a  committee  of  three  of 
the  subscribers  came  and  presented  it  to  me  for  my 
own  personal  use.  I  then  took  it  to  my  residence, 
where  it  has  remained  until  the  present  time.  And 
here  I  beg  leave  to  say  that  I  am  to  this  day  ignorant 
l»f  the  names  of  many  of  those  who  subscribed  towards 
the  payment  of  this  "bust."  To  them  I  tender  my 
warm  and  heartfelt  thanks,  and  fully  appreciate  ,the 
honor  conferred  upon  me.  In  my  will,  made  many 
years  ago,  I  bequeathed  this  "  bust "  to  the  President 
and  Directors  of  the  New  York  Produce  Exchange ; 
but  I  have  recently  made  up  my  mind,  in  consequence 
of  my  removal  shortly  from  my  present  abode,  to 
send  my  "  bust "  to  yoxir  Produce  Exchange  while  I 
am  still  alive,  provided  you  deem  it  worthy  of  a  niche 
in  some  corner  of  your  Exchange. 

Truly  yours, 

(Signed)  N.  T.  HUBBABD. 

NEW  YORK,  July  30,  1872. 


N.    T.    IIUBBARD.  223 

NEW  YORK  PRODUCE  EXCHANGE, 
NEW  YORK,  August  2,  1872. 

N.  T.  HUBBARD,  ESQ. 

Sir, — I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  receipt 
of  yours  of  the  30th  ultimo,  addressed  to  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  New  York  Produce  Exchange,  kindly 
offering  to  anticipate  a  bequest  made  by  you,  many 
years  ago,  of  your  marble  bust,  to  the  President  and 
Directors  of  the  New  York  Produce  Exchange. 

By  action  of  the  Board,  the  generous  offer  made  by 
you  was  accepted,  and  the  Secretary  was  instructed  to 
return  to  you  the  thanks  of  the  Board  for  the  same, 
with  their  hearty  wishes  for  the  extension  and  happi- 
ness of  your  already  long  and  eventful  life.  In  be- 
half of  the  President  and  Board  of  Managers, 

I  am,  very  respectfully,  &c., 
(Signed)         J.  E.  HULSHIZER,  Secretary. 


224  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

MY     GOLDEN     WEDDING. 

NOVEMBER  9th,  1861,  we  celebrated  our 
golden  wedding  at  my  old  residence  on 
Washington  Square,  surrounded  by  all  my 
children  and  a  large  number  of  grand-chil- 
dren. What  a  pleasant  reminiscence  to 
recur  to,  that  I  should  have  celebrated  this 
great  event,  for  how  few  ever  attain  to  it ! 
It  was  my  pleasure  and  pride,  on  that  even- 
ing, to  stand  beside  one,  after  fifty  years 
of  married  life  of  uninterrupted  happiness 
and  prosperity,  and  to  look  upon  her  with 
the  same  love  and  affection  that  bound  us 
together  for  that  great  length  of  time.  It 
was  certainly  a  delightful  occasion,  and  a 
pleasant  reunion  of  dear  relatives  and 
friends,  several  of  whom  were  present  at 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  225 

our  first  wedding.  It  seemed  almost  like 
a  dream  to  realize  tliat  those  fifty  years 
had  flown  so  quickly  by ;  but  many  who 
were  then  present  have  since  passed  away, 
both  old  and  young,  while  I,  the  oldest  of 
the  assemblage,  still  linger  on  the  earth. 
But  great  changes  have  come  over  my  life 
since  then — the  loss  of  dear  loved  ones 
and  loss  of  property ;  but  as  Grod  has  willed 
it  so  let  me  be  resigned.  My  Heavenly 
Father  knows  what  is  best  for  us  all.  My 
children  and  friends  were  lavish  in  their 
tokens  of  love  and  affection,  and  I  shall 
ever  remember  the  kindly  regards  that 
were  shown  on  that  occasion.  May  the 
noble  virtues  of  that  loved  w^ife  and  mother 
be  instilled  into  the  minds  of  those  children 
still  living,  and  their  end  shall  be  peace. 

My  dear  wife  died  seven  years  after 
this  event,  on  the  4th  of  February,  1868, 
mourned  and  regretted  by  all  who  knew 
her. 


£26  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

In  Memoriam. 

JULIA     AUGUSTA. 

August  31st,  1874. — This  is  the  anniver- 
sary of  the  death  of  my  beloved  daughter 
— the  musical  bird  of  my  family.  She 
died  suddenly,  of  congestion  of  the  brain, 
at  Cozzens's  Hotel,  West  Point,  where  my 
family  had  been  stopping  for  some  five  or 
six  weeks.  We  were  preparing  to  leave 
for  home  the  day  she  died.  The  loss  of 
this  daughter,  at  so  early  an  age  (she  was 
but  twenty-one),  with  that  magnificent 
voice,  combined  with  a  disposition  that  lent 
all  the  graces  and  virtues  to  womanhood, 
causes  me  to  mourn  to  this  day  her  loss. 

"  None  knew  her  but  to  love  her, 
None  named  her  but  to  praise." 

My  daughter  left  an  infant  son  (nine 
months  old)  at  her  death,  Francis  H.  Sal- 
tus,  Jr.  He  is  now  grown  to  manhood, 


N.    T.    HUBBAKD.  227 

ind  is  a  young  man  of  superior  talents,  has 
been  educated  mostly  in  Europe,  is  a  great 
linguist,  speaking  five  or  six  different  lan- 
guages, and  inherits,  in  a  degree,  the  musi- 
cal talent  of  his  mother.  He  has  composed 
several  very  beautiful  pieces  of  music,  and 
it  has  often  given  me  great  pleasure  to 
listen  to  his  performances. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 


CHAPTEK  XXVIII. 

PAKSON    GEEENE. 

BEFORE  closing  these  papers  I  cannot  re 
frain  from  quoting,  from  my  "Uncle  Grif 
fin's  Biographical  Sketches,"  a  most  inter- 
esting account  of  Zachariah  Greene,  then 
known  on  Long  Island  as  "  Parson  Greene." 
He  took  an  important  part  in  our  Revolu- 
tionary struggle,  and  the  character  of  the 
man  (as  told  by  Mr.  Griffin)  has  so  often 
struck  me  that  I  deem  it  not  improper  to 
repeat  it  in  these  papers. 


" '  Parson  Greene '  is  the  familiar  name  by 
which  our  hero  is  known  and  distinguished 
from  all  other  men  throughout  the  length 
and  breadth  of  Long  Island.  He  is  the 


N.    T.    HUBBABD.  229 

only  parson  in  Hempstead,  at  least;    all 
the  other  parsons  are  only  ministers.     In 
many  respects  Goldsmith's  description  of 
the  '  Vicar  of  Wakefield '  portrays  the  per- 
son and  accomplishments  of  Parson  Greene. 
Perhaps  the  Vicar's  habits  of  contentment 
never  reached  the  same  happy  summit  as  is 
realized  in  our  own  parson.     The  parson  is 
the  more  interesting,  as  he  is  a  living  book 
— all  fact  and  no  fiction :  he  can  be  read 
in  conversation.     He  speaks  of  sermons  in 
the  pulpit,  and  battles  in  the  Revolution- 
ary struggle,  with  like  affability  and  ease. 
He  listens  with  his  left  ear,  but  looks  pene- 
tratingly with  both  eyes,  while  he  speaks 
fluently,  with  the  affectionate  authority  of 
a  father,  and  commends  everything  he  says 
to  the  sons,  and  particularly  to  the  daugh- 
ters of  his  hearers.      He  looks  hale,  plump 
and  hearty,  and  always  says  he  is  well. 
He  is  the  happiest  man  on  Long  Island. 
He  entertains  the  prospect  of  death  with 
the  same  pleasure  as  the  reception  of   a 


230  AUTOBIOGEAPIIY    OF 

friend.     In  short,  he  is  the  gentleman,  the 
scholar,  the  patriot,  and  the  Christian. 

"  At  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  just  at  the 
time  of  his  leaving  school,  the  cause  of  his 
country  called  him  from  private  life,  and 
with  a  beloved  brother  he  entered  the 
army  under  Captain  Amos  Walbridge,  in 
Colonel  Reed's  regiment,  Brigadier  Glov- 
er's brigade,  and  joined  it  at  Roxbury. 
General  Washington  was  Commander-in- 
Chief,  and  headed  an  army  of  men  who 
were  soldiers  from  patriotic  motives — men 
determined  to  have  a  place  in  national  re- 
presentation as  well  as  national  taxation — 
men  whose  souls  had  been  tried  by  the 
tyranny  of  kings  and  the  petty  despotism 
of  kings'  courtiers.  It  was  under  these  cir- 
cumstances that  Zachariah  -Greene  entered 
the  ranks  of  the  Revolutionary  army  under 
Washington,  and  for  these  reasons  he 
fought  in  its  battles. 

"He  aided  in  the  erection  of  the  fort 
at  Dorchester,  which  was  commenced  one 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  231 

evening  at  sundown,  and  at  sunrise  next 
morning  his  party  had  cannon  playing 
upon  Boston,  and  succeeded  in  driving 
the  British  out  of  Boston,  from  whence 
they  sailed  down  the  bay  to  Castle  Wil- 
liam. Here  they  run  ashore  and  burned  all 
the  buildings  on  Dorchester  Neck.  They 
cannonaded  the  Neck  the  whole  night,  writh 
grapeshot  and  chainshot,  firing  over  the 
American  troops,  ultimately  succeeding  in 
destroying  a  poor  man's  orchard.  He 
moved,  with  the  army  under  Washington, 
from  Roxbury  to  New  York,  and  landed 
there  in  April,  where  he  aided  in  the  erec- 
tion of  the  fort  on  Brooklyn  Heights.  He 
left  New  York  with  the  army  when  it 
evacuated,  and  went  above  Kingsbridge. 

"  When  the  British  arrived  at  Throgg's 
Point  the  battle  commenced,  and  lasted  till 
the  armies  were  separated  by  the  messenger 
of  the  great  arbiter — Darkness.  Soon 
after  this  he  was  in  the  battle  of  White 
Plains,  in  1776.  In  1777  the  same  com- 


232  AUTOBIOGKAPHY    OF 

pany  was  joined  to  Captain  Webb's  com- 
pany in  Connecticut.  He  was  with  the 
party  which  was  sent  to  take  the  fort  at 
Brookhaven,  which  was  built  round  the 
Presbyterian  church,  of  which,  twenty-one 
years  after,  he  was  installed  pastor.  He 
was  in  the  body  of  men  who  marched 
into  the  region  of  Philadelphia,  and  was  at 
the  battle  of  White  Marsh.  During  the 
engagement  he  received  a  wound  in  the 
left  shoulder,  on  the  7th  of  September, 
1777,  his  shoulder-blade  being  shattered. 
It  was  three  days  before  he  had  any  atten- 
tion paid  to  his  wound ;  at  the  end  of  which 
time  he  applied  to  Dr.  Robinson,  a  surgeon, 
who  had  been  taken  prisoner,  to  attend  to 
his  wants.  He  told  Dr.  R.  that  he  would 
compensate  him.  Dr.  R.  asked  him  if  he 
was  not  afraid  to  trust  an  enemy.  He  re- 
plied, '  I  can  trust  a  gentleman.'  Dr.  R. 
attended  to  his  case,  and  succeeded  in  heal- 
ing up  the  wound.  Mr.  Greene  put  his 
right-  hand,  containing  the  compensation, 


N.    T.    HUBBARD.  233 

behind  his  back,  and  told  the  doctor  to 
shake  hands  with  him  in  that  attitude. 
The  doctor  thanked  him,  and  expressed  a 
great  desire  to  have  his  wife  and  children 
on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  saying  if  they 
were  here  he  should  stay  altogether. 

"  The  above  is  the  result  of  Mr.  Greene's 
experience  as  stated  by  himself.  Being  of 
little  more  service  in  the  army,  as  he  was 
no  longer  ab]e  to  bear  arms,  at  the  request 
of  his  father,  and  by  order  of  General 
Washington,  he  was  discharged  from  the 
army,  having,  with  a  good  patriotic  heart 
and  manly  soul  aided  the  cause  of  his 
country  in  several  of  its  hardest  battles. 

"During  the  winter  of  1780,  in  the 
month  of  January,  he  walked  sixteen  miles 
on  a  pair  of  snow-shoes  for  the  purpose  of 
securing  a  small  Latin  book,  which  he  re- 
quired to  aid  him  in  his  preparation  for 
college.  He  had  now  entered,  according 
to  his  own  words,  '  an  army  in  which  he 
was  determined  to  fight  for  a  better  De- 


234  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF 

claration  of  Independence  than  the  last/ 
He  resolved  to  be  a  soldier  of  Christ. 

"  In  the  year  1782  he  entered  Dartmouth 
College,  but  had  been  engaged  in  study  but 
.a  short  time  when,  owing  to  bad  health, 
he  was  compelled,  for  a  season,  to  with- 
draw. After  a  considerable  recess,  he  as- 
sumed the  cares  of  a  student  once  more. 
He  subsequently  studied  theology  with 
Amzi  Lewis,  of  Orange  County,  New 
York. 

"  Having  passed  through  all  the  prelimi- 
nary and  initiatory  steps  necessary  to  pre- 
pare him  for  the  ministry,  he  was  duly 
licensed  to  preach  on  the  first  day  of  Febru- 
ary, 1785.  In  the  year  1800  he  visited  the 
scene  of  his  collegiate  experience  at  Dart- 
mouth, and  upon  his  return  the  faculty  of 
that  institution  honored  him  with  a  diploma, 
which  he  has  prized  very  highly  through 
life.  From  the  time  of  his  ordination,  till 
within  the  last  few  years,  he  has  labored 
'  in  season  and  out  of  season '  in  the  minis- 


F.    T.   HUBBAKD.  235 

try,  pursuing  an  even  course,  and  doing 
much  good  to  his  fellow-men  in  all  the  re- 
alities of  life.  During  this  period  of  ser- 
vice he  endeavored  to  increase  the  happi- 
ness of  two  thousand  individuals,  by  unit- 
ing them  (one  thousand  couples)  in  the 
*  holy  bands  of  matrimony.' " 


In  connection  with  the  foregoing  extract, 
I  desire  to  say  that,  when  quite  a  lad,  I 
frequently  heard  Parson  Greene  preach  at 
the  church  at  Catchogue,  where  he  was  set- 
tled on  the  27th  of  September,  1797. 


APPENDIX. 


[ALLUSION  has  been  made  by  Mr.  Hubbard  in  the  fore- 
going narrative  to  some  of  the  circumstances  attending 
the  execution  of  the  marble  bust  of  himself  which  now 
occupies  a  prominent  place  in  the  Produce  Exchange,  but 
the  following  additional  facts,  kindly  contributed  by  one 
of  the  original  subscribers  to  that  fine  work  of  art,  will 
have  especial  interest  as  the  voluntary  testimony  of  one 
who  has  long  enjoyed  a  familiar  acquaintance  with  the 
subject  of  this  memoir.] 

NEW  YORK,  March  18,  1875. 

IT  is  seldom  that  the  active  life  of  a  busy 
merchant  is  prolonged  to  the  extent  of  that 
of  our  friend  and  neighbor,  Mr.  NATHANIEL 
T.  HUBBAKD.  Having  been  personally  ac- 
quainted with  him,  and  intimate  in  his 
family,  since  1824  (now  fifty-one  ye^s),  it 
seems  proper  that  I  should,  as  an  appen- 
dage to  this  book  containing  the  reminis- 
cences of  a  man  who  has  for  so  long  a 
period  maintained  an  unblemished  charac- 
ter for  mercantile  probity  and  honor,  give 


238  APPENDIX. 

a  history  of  the  maMe  lust  which  now 
adorns  the  rooms  of  the  Produce  Exchange. 
In  1855,  through  the  exertions  of  Mr. 
Theodore  Johnson,  of  the  firm  of  Seguine  <fe 
Johnsons  (who  had  formerly  been  a  clerk 
with  Mr.  Hubbard),  assisted  by  myself,  we 
secured  the  services  of  T.  D.  Jones,  the 
sculptor,  and  procured  a  subscription  of 
fifty  names,  at  ten  dollars  each,  myself  and 
Mr.  Todd,  the  salt  merchant,  being  the  only 
persons  outside  of  the  regular  provision 
business.  In  behalf  of  the  subscribers,  I 
was  deputed  to  present  the  bust,  which 
service  I  performed  on  New  Year's  day, 
1856.  It  was  not  given  to  a  Hero,  Politi- 
cian, or  Author,  but  was  the  spontaneous 
offering  of  friends  to  a  man  who  had,  in  his 
endeavors  to  maintain  the  highest  standard 
of  mercantile  integrity,  become  entitled  to 
their  respect  and  honor.  The  following 
correspondence  took  place  on  the  occasion. 

E.  BILL. 


APPENDIX.  239 

NEW  YORK,  January  1,  1856. 
N.  T.  HTJBBARD,  Esq. : 

Dear  Sir — A  few  of  your  personal  friends,  appreciating 
your  character,  and  feeling  disposed  to  present  you  "with 
some  solid  testimonial  thereof,  secured  the  sendees  of 
T.  D.  Jones,  an  eminent  American  sculptor,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  procuring  your  bust  in  marble.  That  artist  has 
faithfully  performed  his  task,  and  given  us  a  most  truth- 
ful representation  of  one  whom  we  take  pleasure  in  thus 
honoring.  ,Our  object  has  been,  not  only  to  hand  down  to 
posterity  the  features  of  an  old  friend,  but  to  evince  our 
appreciation  of  that  character  for  sterling  honesty  which 
has  always  characterized  your  dealings,  and  made  the 
adage  so  applicable  to  yourself,  "  His  word  is  as  good  as 
his  bond.'1'1  In  asking  your  acceptance  of  this  testimonial, 
which  we  now  do,  we  beg  to  convey  with  it  our  best 
wishes  for  your  health  and  happiness. 

In  behalf  of  the  subscribers,  and  with  many  good  wishes 
personally, 

I  am  truly  yours, 

EDWARD  BILL. 


NEW  YORK,  January  7,  1856. 
EDWARD  BILL,  Esq., 

on  behalf  of  the  subscribers,  etc. : 

Dear  Sir — Your  communication  of  the  1st  inst.  was  duly 
received,  accompanied  by  the  presentation  of  a  marble 
bust,  executed  by  T.  D.  Jones.  Esq.,  of  this  city.  For  this 
testimonial  of  your  esteem  I  tender  those  who  have  pro- 
cured its  execution  my  most  heartfelt  thanks,  and  I  assure 
you  that  it  is  the  richest  gift  you  could  bestow,  as  it  is  the 
most  valuable  legacy  my  children  can  receive. 

This  compliment  is  doubly  enhanced  from  the  circum- 


240  APPENDIX. 

stance  that  it  is  received  from  gentlemen  who,  for  a  long 
time,  have  been  engaged  in  the  same  branch  of  business  as 
myself;  and  to  have  secured  the  respect  of  those  with  whom 
I  have  had  almost  daily  intercourse  for  years  is  a  gratifica- 
tion and  pleasure  which  I  have  not  words  to  express. 

With  sentiments  of  esteem  and  respect,  please  accept  my 
best  wishes  for  your  future  prosperity  and  happiness. 

N.   T.    HUBBAKD. 


SUBSCRIBERS'    NAMES. 


IT  having  become  known  to  some  of  Mr. 
Hubbard's  intimate  friends  on  the  New 
York  Produce  Exchange  that  he  had  pre- 
pared a  sketch  of  his  life,  with  a  view  to 
publication,  they  organized  a  committee, 
consisting  of  Messrs.  Abraham  S.  Jewell, 
Charles  H.  Johnson,  J.  E.  Hulshizer, 
Charles  W.  Strachan,  James  R.  Turner, 
Archibald  Harris,  and  Frank  Kimball,  to 
take  charge  of  the  publication,  and  relieve 
Mr.  Hubbard  from  all  care  and  risk  in 
the  matter,  which  they  were  enabled  to  do 
through  the  following  subscribers. 

The  work  of  carrying  the  volume  thro  ugh 
the  press  was  entrusted  to  Mr.  Grant,  Su- 
perintendent of  the  Exchange,  who  kindly 
gave  the  matter  his  personal  supervision. 

NEW  YORK,  March  31,  1875. 


242 


SUBSCRIBERS7    NAMES. 


ABBOTT,  J.  H. 

CRAMER,  L.  V. 

ACKEHMAN,  C.  T. 

CLOSE,  JOHN  W. 

ATWATER,  T.  S. 

COLGATE,  SAMUEL. 

ALLEN,  F.  H. 

CHAMBERS,  H.  F.  S. 

AMELUNG,  HENRY. 

CHAMBERLIN,  ROE  &  Co. 

ANDERSON,  J. 

CHAMBERS,  G.  F. 

ALEXANDER,  JAS.  A. 

COOPER,  JOHN  B. 

ANNAN,  E. 

CLARK,  M.  E. 

ALBERT,  F.  P. 

CARLL,  S.  S. 

ARMOUR,  PLANKIVTON  &  Co. 

CECIL,  Jr.,  GEO. 

ARCHER,  Jr.,  D.  O. 

COLEMAK  &  CO.,  E.  W. 

ARCIIBOLD,  J.  D. 

CONKLIN,  JOHN  S. 

CHURCHMAN,  ALFRED. 

BAXTER  &  Co.,  ARCHIBALD. 

COLE,  W.  A. 

BILL,  EDWARD. 

COBB,  E.  H.  &  SON. 

BENSON,  R.  H. 
BALDWIN.  JAS.  L. 

CRANE,  MUNROE. 
COOK  BROS.  &  McCoRD. 

BOGERT,    B.  C. 

CAMERDEN,  JNO. 

BURKHOLDER  &  McCuTCUEN. 

BOND,  JNO.  H. 

Dows  &  Co.  ,  DAVID. 

BURT,  HAYES  &  Co. 

DALLY,  SAMUEL. 

BOSTWICK,  J.  B. 

DANIELS,  H.  !». 

BOUCK,  JAS.  B. 

DOYLE,  JAMES. 

BECHTEL,  Jr.,  G.  J. 

DAVIS,  L. 

BREWSTER,  J.  L. 

DOUGLASS,  R.  J. 

BARTLETT,  G.  A. 

DOUGHERTY,  JOHN. 

BRUSH,  W.  F. 

DECKER,  S.  C. 

BliEWSTER,  A.  H. 

DOUGHERTY,  E.  H. 

BAKKETTO,  G.  M. 

DUNN,  SAMUEL  P. 

BARBER,  W.  B. 

DUSENBERY,  HENRY. 

BUTLER,  E.  M. 

DEWOLF,  D.  R 

BURT,  J.  M. 

DENSLOW  &  BUSH. 

BINGIIAM,  DAVID. 

BONNELL,  A. 

ELLSWORTH,  J.  W. 

BEYER,  JOHN  A. 

EDSON,  FRANKLIN. 

BROOKER,  J.  P. 

ELLIS,  THOMAS. 

BOWLER,  GEO.  T. 

ELLIOTT,  A.  W. 

BAXTER,  WARREN  C. 

EMMENS,  G.  W. 

BLOOM,  W.  J. 

BOWNES,  Jos.  W. 

FACKINER,  JNO. 

BURGESS,  E.  G 

FOWLER  BROS. 

BARKLEY,  JOHN  F. 

FULLER,  WM.  H. 

BENNETT,  C.  E 

FLOYD,  BENJ.  W. 

BESTER,  R  S. 

FINK,  VALENTINE. 

BOSTWICK,  J.  A. 

FROST,  I.  T. 

BUSHNELL,  Tuos.  C. 

FISKE  &  Co.,  J.  M. 

Fox,  W.  H. 

CHAMBERLIN,  J.  M. 

FEKKIS  &  Co.,  GEO.  B. 

CHASE,  THEO.  B. 

FLINT,  JAS.  L. 

CHAMKR,  J.  L». 

FOSTER,  C.  G. 

COBB,  S.  R. 

FORD,  S.  R. 

CONNELL,  D. 

FERRIS,  J.  J. 

SUBSCRIBERS     NAMES. 


243 


FREDERICK,  If, 

JOHNSON,  C.  EL 

FENBY,  Jos.  B. 

JONES,  GEO.  L 

FEIGELSTOCK,  A.     • 

JEWELL,  JOHN  V. 

FLEISCHMANN,  MAX. 

JEFFREY,  G.  M 

FOKCE,  S.  C. 

JEWELL,  EDWARD  M. 

JARVIS,  JAS.  L. 

GORMAN  &  Co. 

GBIGHS,  D.  A. 

KELLER,  FRED. 

GARDNER,  A.  V. 

KNOWLES,  S.  W. 

GILLETT,  M.  H. 

KINGA.V  &  Co. 

GOODEVE,  JAS. 

KKNT,  E.  A. 

GOULAKD,  Tnos. 

KNAPP,  MILTON. 

GOPSILL,  Tnos.  M. 

KNAPP,  GEO.  C, 

GODWIN,  Jos. 

KEENEY,  GEO.  M. 

GKANT,  S.  H. 

KIMBALL,  C.  A. 

KENDALL,  WM. 

HULSHIZER,  J.  E. 

HOLMAN,  L.  F. 

LAIMBEER,  R.  H. 

HAZELTINE,  L. 

LOCKWOOD,  C.  B. 

HAZELTINE,,J.  M. 

LOGAN,  JAMES. 

HEUBERER,  C.  E. 

LEGGETT,  R.  L. 

HARRIS,  W.  H. 

LEWIS,  EDW'D  J. 

HEBEUT,  HENRY  B. 

LEA,  RICHARD  M. 

HEBERT,  JOHN  H. 

LAMSON,  E.  O. 

HARRISON,  S.  D. 

LOSEE,  FRANCIS. 

HOWE,  B.  T. 

LOWE,  JOHN 

HARRISON,  THOS.  D. 

LoUNSBEiiY,  JAS.  H. 

HALSTEAD,  P.  S. 

HIBBARD,  L.  D. 

McEwAN,  JAS.  W. 

HIGGINS,  W.  B. 

MACFARLANE,  V.  W. 

HAUCK,  J. 

MOSES,  A. 

HARRIS,  T.  R. 

MlLLSPAUGH,  P.  M. 

HICKS,  H.  E. 

MEDAY,  C.  H. 

HYATT  &  MOUNT. 

MARVIN,  W.  T. 

HAKKIS,  ARGIL 

MclLVAINE,    A.  E. 

HENEY,  A.  T. 

HINCKEN,  EDW. 

MOSES,  WM. 
MONTGOMERY,  ARCH. 

HOLT  &  Co. 

MEDAY,  GEO.  K. 

HOLMES,  A.  L. 

MANWARINU,  WM.  M. 

HEYE,  GUSTAV. 

MILLER,  HIRAM. 

McEwEN,  GEO.  C. 

IVES,  EDWARD. 

MANWARING,  Jr.,  D.  W. 

INGEBSOLL,  HORACE. 

MANGAM,  D.  D. 

McCoRD,  H.  D. 

JONES,  JACOB. 

MYERS,  M.  C. 

JEWELL,  H.  S. 

METTLER,  Jr.,  S. 

JACOBY,  S. 

MANGAM,  E.  B. 

JOHNSON,  G.  F.  &  Co. 

McTAVisn,  D.  A. 

JEWELL,  A.  S. 

MOORE,  EDW'D  A. 

JEWELL,  EBENM. 

MANWARING,  D.  W 

JOHNSON,  E.  A. 

MYERS,  MASON 

JONES,  A.  A. 

MILLER,  J.  T. 

244 


SUBSCELBEKS7    NAMES. 


MACT,  Jr.,  JOSIAH.                      1  STRUBLE,  ISAAC  J. 

McGEE,  JAS.                                  1  SINCLAIR  A. 

MEISSNER,  FRED. 

STRACHAN,  CHAS.  W. 

STEVENS,  ASA. 

K  Y.  PRODUCE  EXCHANGE. 

STUTZEK,  HERMAN. 

NASH,  THOS.  C. 

SMITH,  W.  J. 

NEWLIN,  EDW'D. 

SPEAR,  CHARLES. 

SMITH,  H.  W. 

PARKER,  C. 

STEAHS,  W.  L.  B. 

PARKEK,  F.  H. 

SMITH  &  Co.,  F.  E. 

PATRICK,  ROBT. 
PRESTON,  WM.  I. 

SPAULDING,  A.  S. 
SANFORD,  CARL. 

POWER,  WM.  H. 

SIMONS,  A.  H. 

PAXSON,  WM. 

SMITH,  CORNELIUS. 

PHILLIPS  &  Co. 

SQUIRES,  A.  L. 

POPHAM,  WM.  H. 

SCHOONMAKER,  L.  H. 

PARTRICK,  GEO.  F. 

STONE,  GEO.  C. 

POWELL,  Jr.,  WM. 

SMITH  &  Co.,  GEO. 

PAULES,  JOHN  H. 

SKIDMORE,  C.  H. 

PARKER,  CHAS.  F. 
PATNE,  WM.  H. 

SlLBEKHORN,  W.  H. 

STORY,  W.  H. 

PEEK,  P.  F. 

SHOTWELL,  H.  W. 

POTTER,  J.  W. 

SHOTWELL,  THEO. 

PATTERSON,  CLAPP  &  Co. 

SERGEANT.  A.  J. 

PHINNEY,  E.  S. 

SUYDAM,  WALTER  L, 

PARKINSON,  ROBERT. 

STENSON,  SAMUEL. 

POUCH,  A.  J. 

SHAFER,  N.  B. 

STEPHENSON,  FRED. 

ROBERTS,  WM.  P. 

SCHEDLER&CO.,  F.  X. 

RICE,  L.  J. 

SEAGER,  J.  C. 

RANDOLPH,  T.  E.  F. 

ROBBINS,  S.  T. 

TRAVIS,  W.  S. 

ROGERS,  G. 

TEFFT,  P.  C. 

ROMER,  ALFRED. 
RICH,  C.  E. 

TALLMAN,  J.  H. 
TRIPP  &  KETCHAM. 

ROUNDEY,  B.  R 

TOBEY,  JNO.  A. 

ROUSE,  MARTIN. 

TRIGG,  GEO  P. 

REED,  HORATIO. 

TURNER,  JAS.  R. 

REED,  H.  M. 

THOMAS,  W.  W. 

ROOD,  L.  W. 

TOMPKINS,  H.  W. 

ROHE,  CHAS. 

TONJES,  CHAS.  F. 

REED  &  Co.,  I.  H. 

THOMAS,  EVAN. 

ROBERTS,  A.  F. 

THORNE,  J.  W. 

RICE,  E.  C. 

TOBEY  &  BOOTH. 

ROBERSON,  S. 

TITUS,  EDMUND. 

RYDER,  S.  O. 

TRENCH,  JOHN. 

ROBB,  J.  W. 

THALLON,  ROBT. 

ROGERS,  H.  C. 

ROCKEFELLER,  WM. 

VAN  WAGONER,  P.  H. 

VAN  TASSEL,  E.  M. 

SPRING,  A. 

VOORHEES,  W.  K 

SINCLAIR  &  Co.,  JNO. 

VAIL,  D.  S. 

SUBSCRIBERS     NAMES. 


245 


VAN  WAGENEN,  C.  D. 
VAN  TASSEL,  J.  A. 
VATABLE,  H.  A. 
VALENTINE,  STEPHEN. 

WORK,  W.  A. 
WATTS  &  MATTTEWS. 
WooDBiniY,  F.  P. 
WALKER,  JAMES. 
WEBB,  HENRY. 
WOOLSEY,  T.  B. 
WRIGHT  &  BYRNE. 
WHITMAN,  E.  S. 
WOLFE,  N.  H. 
WILCOX  &  Co.,  W.  J. 
WARD,  J.  S. 


WILLIAMS  &  Co.,  H. 
WILLIAMS,  W. 
WELCH,  P.  A. 
WARD,  H.  C. 
WYNKOOP,  JAS.  D. 
WILLIAMSON,  WM. 
WHITLOCK,  GEO. 
WALKER,  E.  H. 
WARNER,  A. 
WEEKS,  FORSTER  J. 

YELLOWLEE,  B.  A. 
YOUKQ,  J.  S. 
YALE,  AMERTON. 
YEOMANS,  S.  A. 


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Los  Angeles 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


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